The illustration next to the definition of "trap game" in Lexington's football dictionary is this game. Coming a week after their euphoric win at Reading and playing at the unlikely time of 10 on a Saturday morning (Really. Is there a teenager anywhere awake at that time?), they woke up just in time to keep their unbeaten season alive...barely.
DEFENSE SAVES LEXINGTON FOOTBALL AT WINCHESTER
WINCHESTER, MA. October 8, 2016. Thanks to key defensive plays in the closing minutes by Junior Sal Frelick and Senior Tim Fleming, the Lexington High School football team escaped from Winchester with a 28-27 win last Saturday to keep their unbeaten season alive.
The Minutemen who had a remarkable record of 0 turnovers for the entire season, committed 3 on this day, and it almost cost them the game.
“It’s unbelievable what turnovers will do,” said a relieved Coach George Peterson after the game. “Yes, we had a let down after last Friday’s big win (at Reading) and didn’t execute the way we have been. But you’ve got to credit Winchester. They were ready to play and really deserved to win. We were fortunate to sneak away with it.”
With Lexington ahead by two scores 28 – 14 with 3 minutes left in the third, things seemed comfortably in hand. But from that point it became what Coach Peterson termed “a raise your blood pressure type of game.”
After a costly personal foul penalty left Lexington in a 4th and 14 hole, the Sachems took over at midfield. Three consecutive thrusts up the middle by bruising senior Pat Costello moved them quickly to Lexington’s 23 and one play later quarterback Liam Fitzpatrick scored on a keeper to close to 28-21.
Winchester’s defense then held the Minutemen for an unusual 3 and out and started their drive on their own 29 with 10:33 left in the game. Costello, Fitzpatrick and the fresh legs of Junior running back Peter Gallagher used 13 plays and almost 8 minutes to score.
The drive was kept alive on a critical 4th and 2 from the Lexington 25. Fitzpatrick broke free off tackle for 12 yards and would have scored but for a shoe string tackle by Lexington Sophomore Anthony Bianchi. Three plays later the Sachems scored anyway when Fitzpatrick found wide receiver Henry Mcdonough in the Lexington end zone to bring Winchester almost all the way back and set up the defensive drama that would follow.
Now with just 2:30 left in the game the Sachems decided to go for a 2-point conversion and the lead. Fitzpatrick took a direct snap in the shotgun, rolled to his right on a pass/run option, was met by a Lexington defender and passed to his receiver in the right flat. Lexington’s Frelick (yes, he plays defense, too), timing his response perfectly arrived at the scene on a dead run driving the receiver backwards well short of the goal line in what appeared to be the game saving play for the Minutemen.
But the drama was far from over as Lexington still had a turnover left in their bag. Taking possession on their own 19 with 2:29 left, Frelick and Ben Quint brought the Minutemen smartly out to their own 47, but on a 1st and 10 keeper up the middle designed to continue killing the clock Frelick was hit hard, fumbled and, of course, Winchester recovered at the Minuteman 47 with 1:33 left and a second chance to win.
It was not to be. On 3rd and 10 Fitzpatrick looked again for McDonough down the middle at the Lexington 15 where Fleming’s leaping interception broke Sachem hearts and secured the win for the Minutemen.
Early in the game it appeared that Winchester had found a way to contain Lexington’s high-powered offense by simply keeping Frelick and friends off the field. In the first quarter the Sachems held the ball for 17 plays while the Minutemen had it for only 3. On the first of those three plays Lexington fumbled on their own 6-yard line to literally hand Winchester their first touchdown. All this after the Lexington defense had stopped a 15-play Winchester drive on 4th and 1 at the 6.
Characteristically, it took the Minutemen just two plays to answer the Sachem’s opening score. Rolling to his left at the Lexington 40 Frelick hit Junior James Lane with a 45-yard bomb. Lane made a highlight reel fingertip catch in full stride at the Winchester 15 and carried it in for a 60-yard touchdown.
Lexington’s second touchdown saw Frelick and Bianchi team up for a key 4th down conversion, this one on 4th and 3 from the Winchester 13. Bianchi was wide open streaking from his flanker position across the middle where Frelick hit him with a laser for the touchdown.
The Frelick to Senior Spencer Kendall connection accounted for the two other Minuteman touchdowns. Kendall had 4 receptions for 105 yards including the two touchdowns both leaping catches over smaller defenders in the right corner of the end zone, territory Kendall seems to own.
Fleming played brilliant defense in the Minuteman secondary. In addition to his game securing interception he artfully broke up a Fitzpatrick pass at the Lexington goal line as Winchester tried to score on 4th and goal from the 13 early in the second quarter–one of his several knockdowns of the game.
Frelick carried 13 times for 82 yards and was 11 of 19 passing for 166 yards and four touchdowns. But one of his most important contributions was nearly forgotten after the pressurized final moments of the game. Lexington had missed their first extra point try so after their second touchdown went for 2 to regain that lost point. On a quarterback keep off the right side Frelick hurdled a Winchester defender on his way into the end zone for 2 points that proved to be critical.