'Keep grinding': Durfee football continues quest for first win after loss to Dartmouth
FALL RIVER — As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the fourth quarter, the Durfee football team lined up on its sidelines to congratulate the victors.
It was the sixth straight time the Hilltoppers came up short in quest of their first win of the season.
Dartmouth head coach Rick White, who won four Super Bowl titles as a coach (back-to-back) and player (back-to-back) remembered the good and the bad days.
"It's hard because you're teaching the game and you're teaching them the system too," he said after the Indians pulled out a 17-0 win at B.M.C Durfee High school. "It's tough because you don't have time and you're not playing weak teams. Those guys [Durfee] are playing Attleboro, Bridgewater-Raynham ... Division I teams. There's no easy game on the schedule.
"The game experience you can't duplicate it so you have to get experience. It's high school football and we all want to win every week. But you have to take baby steps as a young team and be patient. You have to keep working hard."
White's Indians did all they needed to do at Max Aldrich turf field to even their record to 3-3. Dartmouth's defense pitched its second shutout of the season.
"We've been struggling a bit on offense," White said. "We certainly weren't perfect tonight but controlled the clock in the first quarter. [Durfee] is a physical team and the kids always play hard. I have a lot of respect for Coach Taylor Brown. They have to keep it together and keep grinding."
There were moments in the game where the Hilltoppers (0-6) looked to get some momentum of their side.
The defense stopped Dartmouth twice in the red zone and forced a field goal by Louie Freitas. Senior Dabriel Monteiro intercepted a pass late in the second quarter to keep the score 9-0. Chance Jeffers had a sack on fourth down in the third quarter.
"Defense started out well, stopping them three times," Brown said. "But then we had three penalties which kept their drive alive. Yeah the defense was physical all night. But we just could not get it going on offense."
How it happened
The Indians put together a long drive right from the opening kickoff. A roughing the kicker penalty on Durfee gave Dartmouth a first down. But the Hilltoppers stopped them again to force a 32-yard field goal which gave the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Durfee went three-and-out and the Indians took advantage of botched punt. Junior Nikko Morris, who had a solid night throwing the football, capped a six-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown run to increase the Indians lead to 9-0. The extra point was no good.
KJ Strong took the Hilltoppers downfield but a holding penalty and fourth down incompletion negated a good scoring chance with less than three minutes before halftime.
Monteiro's interception gave the hosts one last chance before the intermission. But Durfee failed on another fourth down play.
Markus Andrews' 15-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter gave Dartmouth a 15-0 lead. On the ensuing extra point attempt, Indians' holder Sean Martin got up from his knees to toss a pass in the end zone to Jared Abreu for the two-point conversion and lead jumped to 17-0.
Durfee will have a bye before hosting top seeded Brockton in two weeks.
"We have to do a better job," Brown said. "The kids had more energy in the pre game than we've had in the past four weeks. We were excited about that. I thought the kids were locked in. We had a few good plays on offense like it's been every week. Then fumbles and holding penalties. We can't succeed when it's third-and-18."
Dartmouth 17, Durfee 0
Dartmouth 3 6 8 0 17
Durfee (0-6) 0 0 0 0 0
Dartmouth stats
Rushing
Nikko Morris seven carries 12 yards, Ray Gramlich nine carries 28 yards, Markus Andrews four carries 32 yards, Jared Abreu three carries for eight yards and Chase Feno one carry 10 yards.
Passing
Nikko Morris 7-for-9, 70 yards, two sacks
Receiving
Louie Freitas 4 rec. 39 yards, Graham White 2 rec. 35 yards, Jalen Adams 1 rec 9 yards
Durfee Stats
(provided by Derek Miller)
Rushing
Adrian Romero 10 carries 21 yards, Anthony Correa 4 carries 11 yards, KJ Strong 7 carries 32 yards, Miguel Mercado 3 carries 12 yards, and Eric Lucas 6 carries 15 yards. Total: 33 carries 100 yards
Passing
KJ Strong 2-for-4 5 yards 1 int., Eli Chace 3-for-6 64 yard 1 int. Total: 5-for-10, 69 yards, 2 int.
Receiving
Jaden Hout 2 rec 18 yards, Eric Lucas 2 rec 44 yards, Gaston 1 rec 0 yards, Dabriel Monteiro 1 rec 7 yards
Kickoff returns
Hout 2 ret. 38 yards, Lucas 1 ret. 48 yards
Penalties: 7 for 68 yards
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Durfee football learns tough lessons in loss to Dartmouth
