Dracut Football Wins Against Acton-Boxborough and Moves on to the 2008 Super Bowl
In the second half of Tuesday’s MIAA Eastern Mass. Division 1A semifinal, the Acton-Boxborough football team’s offense matched Dracut score-for-score.
The Middies punched the ball into the end zone one more time than the Colonials did in the first half, however, and prevailed, 28-21 at Cawley Stadium.
“We moved the ball well,” said A-B coach Bill Maver. “We didn’t tackle well, but a lot of that was what they did. You have to give them credit.”
The Dual County League Large School champion, A-B finished the season at 10-2. It was the Colonials’ first postseason appearance since 2004.
Dracut (10-2) will play Marshfield in the Division 1A Super Bowl Saturday at Gillette Stadium.
The game started off well for the Colonials, who took the opening kickoff and ate up 5 minutes and 29 seconds before claiming the early lead on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Alex Kastrinellis to Robbie Ruggiero.
Though the A-B defense bent on the Middies’ first possession, the series ended well for the Colonials when Trevor Jeanson recovered a fumble at the A-B 14 following an 18-yard completion from Matt Grimard to Jared Gauthier.
Dracut scored twice before the end of the half, however, to take a 14-7 lead into the third quarter. Grimard scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 3:29 left in the half and with 13 seconds left, he threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Gauthier. On the first conversion, Rakeem Shepard’s kick was wide right. After the second touchdown, Grimard threw to Jordan Murphy.
“[AB] did a good job of grinding it out in the first quarter,” said Dracut coach Jeff Moore. “[The second touchdown] was big. It gave us momentum going into the second half.”
On the first three series of the second half, the two teams traded touchdowns. Grimard scored on a keeper around the right end with 7:56 left, increasing Dracut’s lead to 20-7.
The Colonials answered with Jeanson scoring from the 1 after taking a pitch from Kastrinellis and going around the left end. Garrett Mullin’s second of three successful extra-point kicks cut Dracut’s lead to 20-14 with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
On the second play of that series, Kastrinellis hooked up with Jack Souza, who completed the 45-yard catch-and-run play when Craig Lussier ran him out of bounds at the Dracut 27.
Grimard scored his third touchdown of the night on the next series, going through the middle of the line from the 1 with 1:41 left in the third. The nine-play drive included a 12-yard pass to Gauthier and a 26-yard completion to Murphy. Johnattan Rivera (12 carries, 83 yards) also broke loose for a 26-yard gain.
Grimard finished the game with 119 yards on 21 carries and he completed 14 of 18 passes for 163 yards.
“He makes plays,” Moore said. “He keeps plays alive.”
A-B had two long drives while trying to cut into the Middies’ lead. A 16-yard pass from Kastrinellis to J.P, Ashline on fourth-and-13 moved the ball to the Dracut 37 and kept the drive going. Eventually, A-B advanced to the Dracut 24. On second-and-9, Kastrinellis threw a deep pass toward the left sideline, but Dracut’s Jake Malandrino picked it off at the 4. Two A-B players tried to wrestle the ball back from him, but everyone went out of bounds before the Colonials could strip the ball.
After A-B forced Dracut to punt for the only time in the game, the Colonials took over at the Middie 41 with 4:46 left to play. With a 10-yard pass from Kastrinellis to Ruggiero and a 14-yard gain from Akeem Mercury, A-B was on the Dracut 11. Two plays later, Kastrinellis hooked up with Ashline for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 2:09 remaining. Mullin’s extra point made it 28-21.
Dracut recovered the onside kick, however, and ran out the clock after Grimard gained 18 yards to the A-B 22.
Kastrinellis completed nine of 19 passes for 116 yards. The touchdown passes to Ruggiero (three catches, 23 yards) and Ashline (four catches, 39 yards) were his first two touchdown passes of the season.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kastrinellis said. “I’m not about stats. It’s a team game and we play to win. I don’t care about the touchdown passes.
“They’re a great team and they’re probably going to win the Super Bowl. Grimard is the best quarterback in the state. They have a great offense, but nobody gave our offense enough credit. Our offense played great tonight. Our defense played its heart out. Robbie Ruggiero is the best linebacker out there. I’m just proud that we stuck together.”