Dan Popper
Sports Editor
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Last night, the #1 seeded Rams came out victorious over the #4 St. Paul/Goodwin Tech Falcons 14-13. Despite allowing a 7 yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining, the Rams were able stop the Falcons in their two point conversion attempt as a fade route thrown by senior quarterback Tanner Bachand fell just out of the reach of senior receiver Byron Jones.
The Rams struck first with a 50 yard punt return touchdown by junior receiver Kevin Macari with 9:54 remaining in the first quarter. Following a three and out by the Falcons, the Rams went on a 14 play, 4:40 drive that ended on the 32-yard line due to an incomplete pass thrown by senior quarterback Turner Baty, intended for senior captain Willie Ouellette.
The Falcons took over and drove down the field through the end of the first quarter and into the second. On 3rd and 6 from the six-yard line, junior Conor Hanratty sacked Tanner Bachand for a four-yard loss. The Falcons went for it on 4th down, but senior runningback Chris Bachand fumbled at the two-yard line and the Rams recovered at the 10-yard line with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter. The Rams ensuing drive stretched 71 yards in 3:58, but ended for a second time with a turnover on downs as Baty was off the mark to Macari on 4th and 15.
With 6:00 remaining, a holding penalty and a sack by junior Jimmy Joe Granito for a ten-yard loss on second down forced the Falcons to punt. With the ball on the 48-yard line, the Rams failed to capitalize on good field position as Baty threw an interception at the 30-yard line on 4th down with 1:09 remaining. Despite two first downs, the Falcons failed to advance the ball due to strong defense from the Rams who forced Tanner Bachand into throwing four incomplete passes. Sophomore Kevin McDonough contributed a sack for a three-yard loss with 12 seconds remaining in the half. At the conclusion of the first half, the Rams led 7-0.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Rams started with good field position due to a return by junior Joe Costigan to the 45-yard line. This time the Rams were able to capitalize as a 55 yard, 2:44 drive was capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Baty to senior captain Cody Newton. Colin Shapiro made his second PAT of the game to extend the Rams lead to 14-0.
The Falcons responded quickly with a kick-off return to the 47-yard line. Following his 23-yard run on the previous play, Chris Banchard scored from two yards out with 6:48 remaining.
The two teams exchanged punts on each of their next drives. When the Rams got the ball back again, Macari made another solid return to the 45. Despite two catches by Cody Newton for 22 yards, the Rams turned the ball over on fourth down for the third time in the game, this time on an incomplete pass intended for Macari. However, the Rams were able to gain momentum heading into the fourth quarter as senior Chris White sacked Tanner Bachand for a loss of seven yards on the last play of the third quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Falcons were forced to punt. Another big return by Macari to the Falcon’s 25-yard line was called back to a clipping penalty. Following only one first down, the Rams too, were forced to punt. Ouellette’s punt was blocked, giving the ball to the Falcons on their own 37 with 10:56 to go in the game. The ensuing Falcons drive stretched 52 yards in 6:19, highlighted by a 3 yard run on 4th and 3 that cleared the first down marker by just inches, forcing a measurement. But, Chris Banchard bobbled the handoff and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Jimmy Joe Granito with 4:27 remaining.
The Rams drive that followed was highlighted by a 23-yard catch and run by Granito to convert a crucial third down. However, a delay of game and back-to-back incomplete passes forced a punt by Ouellette, which was returned to the 47-yard line with 2:00 remaining. On the following play, Jones made a 44-yard catch-and-run in which he escaped a vicious hit by senior safety Hunter Eldred with 1:27 remaining. The Falcons finished off the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining, yet failed on the two-point conversion. The Rams recovered the ensuing onside kick and kneeled to let the clock run out on the next play.
The Rams advance to the final against the winner of the other semifinal match-up between #2 East Lyme and #3 Vinal Tech. The site and time are TBA.