MONSTER INVADES BELMONT; LEAVES WITH 56-14 VICTORY
Belmont, MA. 10/13/17. Was it Halloween two weeks early? Maybe The Invasion of the Title Snatchers? Or maybe just Friday the 13th.
Whatever it was, the Lexington three-headed football monster invaded Belmont last night.
It scored seven times on a mere eleven…eleven offensive plays.
It held the ball for only 3:30 of the 22 minute first half, and in those 210 seconds rang up 56 points.
That’s not a misprint.
56 points. In the first half.
In just over three minutes of possession.
And what’s worse is that the monster appears to be growing another head with an angry, opportunistic defense that forced three Belmont turnovers on successive first half possessions all leading to Lexington scores.
The result of this horror show was a 56 -14 (56-7 at the half) Lexington win assuring the Minutemen of at least a share of their second consecutive Middlesex Liberty title, about which Minuteman coach George Peterson remarked, “We’re not interested in sharing a title here. Our first goal as a team is to win the league championship.”
Some lab work on the monster’s DNA revealed the following. The middle head is senior quarterback Sal Frelick. He (it?) brought a combination of speed, power and guile to new heights accounting for six touchdowns on breathtaking runs of 64, 29, 80 and 66 yards and throwing for two more.
The right head is the two-way monster, junior Tony Bianchi, who had two receptions for touchdowns, one for 80 yards in which he covered the final fifty with his legs, and a key interception in the Lexington end zone when the score was just 14-7 that lit the fuse for the explosion that followed.
The left head is the other two-way monster senior co-captain Ben Quint who scored on a 59 yard burst, and an 88 yard punt return, set up another score with a fumble recovery, and a fourth with a 30 yard interception return to the Belmont 11 yard line.
The curtain opened on the horror show when Belmont won the opening coin toss and, in deferring, effectively opened the door to the cellar and actually started down the stairs into the blackness below with those watching pleading, “No, no. Don’t go down there.”
The monster was only too happy to accept Belmont’s largesse. Their opening thrust took just 37 seconds. Frelick faked a hand-off to Quint. The Marauder defense moved to the right with the running back leaving the middle open for Frelick who slipped through, cut to the right sideline and was off for 64 yards. The Belmont band (outstanding by the way) hadn’t even found their seats yet.
To their credit Belmont answered with the perfect antidote to Lexington’s offense; a 19 play drive that devoured 7:30 of the first quarter. Senior quarterback George Fitzgerald was 5 for 8 passing on the drive including an unlikely third down and 20 conversion to junior receiver Dijuan Moore. Running backs senior Tyler Reynolds and junior Kilian O’Connell moved the ball well on the ground and Fitzgerald scored on a 4th and goal quarterback sneak from the half yard line to tie the score at 7 with 2:35 left in the first quarter.
Unfortunately, the drive served only to poke the monster. It took the Lexington offense just two plays and 40 seconds to answer back on Frelick’s bullet to Bianchi down the middle for 80 yards and a 14-7 lead. And it woke up the Minuteman defense.
“I think we came out flat defensively, and their drive woke us up,” Coach George Peterson said. “We decided we couldn’t get into a back and forth game with them. Give them confidence and anything could happen.”
Indeed, after that Belmont scoring drive, the Lexington defense got some attitude. Linebackers juniors Max Stevens and Luke Butler and senior co-captain Jimmy Lane along with end rusher Sean Sullivan continually pressured hurried throws from Fitzgerald while Junior corners Jack Marcin and Gabe Van Emon provided tight coverage on Belmont’s dangerous receivers seniors Jake Pollock and Will Ellet.
The relentless defensive pressure turned Belmont over on their next three consecutive possessions, and the voracious offense capitalized each time.
First Quint recovered a Marauder fumble at the Belmont 24, setting up Lexington’s third score, a Frelick scamper straight up the middle for 29 yards.
On Belmont’s next possession Bianchi intercepted a Marauder pass in the Minuteman end zone. On the next play Frelick went 80 yards in what had to be a demoralizing turn-around for Belmont as the Marauders had advanced to the Lexington 11 on a 65 yard pass from Fitzgerald to senior running back Joe Viale. Frelick’s dazzling run down the left sideline brought the score to 28-7, and there was still:14 left in the first quarter.
Then on Belmont’s next possession, the second play of the second quarter, Fitzgerald, under heavy pressure from Sullivan and Stevens, overthrew his receiver at the 35 hitting Lexington’s free safety Quint right in the numbers.
Quint returned the interception to the Belmont 11. Again it took the Minutemen just one play to capitalize as Frelick hit Bianchi on a crossing pattern in the end zone bringing the score after junior Duncan Hewitt’s extra point (8 for 8 on the night with booming kick-offs as well) to 35-7 and ending hopes for Belmont.
Next Friday the Minutemen travel to Woburn for a 7pm showdown in search of sole title ownership.
Woburn has just one loss in the league and seems to be steadily improving under new coach Jack Belcher. Peterson said, “He’s a great coach. He won like crazy at Bedford. We’ll have to do everything we can to stay with them.” Then he added, “In my tenure here we’ve never won at Woburn. I’d love to get a win there. Love to.”