Fairhaven ends losing streak by beating Dartmouth on Thanksgiving for second straight year

FAIRHAVEN — Kevin Moura was in full-out beast mode in Fairhaven's 14-7 Thanksgiving Day win over Dartmouth at Alumni Stadium on Thursday.

With a sweat-stained, muddy No. 61 jersey and smudged face paint running down his cheeks, Moura had the old-time look of former NFL defensive greats Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke.

A 6-foot-3, 270-pound senior, Moura has excelled as a two-way lineman (right guard and nose tackle) for the Blue Devils the last two seasons and Thursday's victory was an emotional one.

"Winning this game means everything. To be out here with my teammates for my final high school game and come away with a win is the best feeling ever," Moura said. "We had our ups and downs this season, but this makes everything better. We have a lot to be proud of as a team and the seniors can go out with their heads held high."

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Sophomore running back Justin Marques, who scored what proved to be the winning points with his 25th touchdown of the season in the third quarter, had nothing but good things to say about Moura after the win.

"He's the best offensive lineman I've ever played with," said Marques, who finished as the area's leading scorer with 150 points. "Our offensive line was strong all season. We don't score without those guys. They got off the ball and kept our offense humming."

Moura, who also plays lacrosse and competes in winter track (shot put and 55-meter dash), is hoping to continue his football career and study political science and history with an eye on attending UMass Dartmouth, Springfield, Salve Regina, or Westfield State.

"We lived and died with our offensive linemen this season and Kevin epitomized that," Fairhaven coach Derek Almeida said. "He's a tough, physical kid and I hope he can go on to play in college. He has all the tools and he plays with a lot of heart."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak by the Blue Devils, who successfully defended their South Coast Conference Gold Division title with a win at Seekonk before dropping games to Somerset Berkley, Old Rochester, and Bishop Stang.

"We really wanted to win today and we had to beat a good football team," Moura said. "We didn't want to end the season with four straight losses. We have too much pride for that. It was a tough game, but we made some big plays when we needed to and we played well on both sides of the ball. It was a great way for the seniors to end their careers."

For Almeida, this season was a team effort from start to finish.

"We didn't need heroes, we needed kids to do their jobs and everybody pulled together to make this a successful season," Almeida said. "We had our share of success and adversity, but the kids kept playing. They never lost their focus and everybody pulled together to do the best they could. Winning today was a great way to end the season. We sent our seniors out on the right note."

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HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils, who punted the first three times they touched the ball, opened the scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run by junior Colby Correia with 7:42 left to play in the second quarter that helped make it a 7-0 game.

Dartmouth then took advantage of a partially-blocked punt to tie the game on three-yard run by sophomore Ray Gramlich and an extra-point kick by junior Louie Freitas with 58 seconds left in the first half.

Correia's second interception of the game set up the winning points for the Blue Devils in the third quarter. With Marques carrying the ball 10 times, Fairhaven scored to make it a 14-7 game with an 18-play drive that covered 73 yards. Marques capped the drive with a three-yard run and Dartmouth was unable to get into the end zone the last two times it touched the ball.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Blue Devils, who beat Dartmouth for the second straight year, wrapped up a 8-3 season. ... Dartmouth, which returned only four starters from last year's Div. 3 playoff team, finished with a 4-7 record.

KEY PLAYS: The Blue Devils made the defensive stop of the game when they denied Dartmouth a first down on a fourth-and-one at the Fairhaven four-yard line late in the fourth quarter. They took over with 4:58 left to play and proceeded to pick up four clutch first downs that helped them run out the clock. Marques had his longest run of the game on the drive, a 27-yard scamper around right end that was set up by a great block by sophomore tackle Ben Comey, who got off the ball quickly and sealed the outside edge. Marques then ran the ball three more times to pick up the Blue Devils' final first down and Duarte went to a knee to close out the win.

DARTMOUTH STATS: Finished with 192 yards of total offense — 175 on the ground and 17 through the air. ... Gramlich rushed for a team-high 62 yards on 17 carries. ... Sophomore Markus Andrews ran the ball five times for 58 yards. ... Sophomore quarterback Jackson Hart picked up 42 yards on six carries and completed one of six passes with a pair of interceptions. ... Junior defensive lineman Donovan Burgo had two solo sacks and combined with senior defensive lineman Donovan Lancaster for another. ... Dartmouth completed its only pass of the game on a 17-yard screen to Andrews. ... Dartmouth punted twice and turned the ball over on downs two other times. ... Dartmouth was not called for a penalty.

FAIRHAVEN STATS: The Blue Devils ran the ball 48 times for 239 yards. ... Marques was a workhorse, finishing with 139 yards on 30 carries. ... Correia added 62 yards on nine carries. ... Junior quarterback Jayce Duarte did not complete a pass and did not throw the ball after a third-down incompletion that led to a punt on the game's first drive. ... Fairhaven punted four times and turned the ball over on downs once. ...The Blue Devils were called for four penalties totaling 30 yards.

DARTMOUTH COACH RICK WHITE: "We played hard for four quarters. Both defenses stepped up. We stuck to our game plan, but Fairhaven made a couple of big stops on defense. It was a good high school football game."

NOTES: Junior punter Jason Martin did a nice job fielding a pair of bad snaps and getting the ball away while under pressure for Dartmouth. ... The Blue Devils' turf field was dedicated to Dr. Robert Baldwin, Fairhaven's superintendent of schools from 2005-2021, during a halftime ceremony.

FAIRHAVEN 14, DARTMOUTH 7

Dartmouth 0 7 0 0 — 7

Fairhaven 0 7 7 0 — 14

Scoring

Second Quarter

F - Colby Correia 8 run (Jarod Frates kick), 7:43

D - Ray Gramlich 3 run (Louie Freitas kick), :58

Third Quarter

F - Justin Marques 3 run (Jarod Frates kick), 3:13

Individual Statistics

Rushing - D: Ray Gramlich 17-62, Markus Andrews 5-59, Jackson Hart 6-42, Jason Martin 1-2, Dylan Gomes 1-11; F: Justin Marques 30-139, Colby Correia 9-62, Jayce Duarte 3-15, Dylan Roderiques 1-3, Aaron Lague 2-8, name not on roster 3-12

Passing - D: Jackson Hart 1-6-17-0-2; F: Jayce Duarte 0-1-0-0

Receiving - D: Markus Andrews 1-17; F: None

Records: Dartmouth (4-7); Fairhaven (8-3)

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Fairhaven beats Dartmouth football Thanksgiving 2022