Old Rochester beats Apponequet on Thanksgiving to win South Coast Conference Blue title

LAKEVILLE — There was a sense of redemption for senior Zach Profit and the rest of the Bulldogs as they walked off Griffin Field on Thanksgiving with a decisive 28-7 win over South Coast Conference rival Apponequet.

Just seven months earlier, the Lakers handed Old Rochester a crushing 35-point loss to win the conference championship in Lakeville.

“Once I stepped foot on the field, memories from that game flooded in,” Profit said. “I took that as personal as everyone else that played in that game.”

Old Rochester senior Keene Macgregor agreed, “I played left tackle and I felt like I let the seniors down last year and that motivated me to get better. After last year it left a sour taste in our mouth.

“This feels great. After last year’s loss, it motivated everyone. It was the whole basis of our offseason. That just brought it all together.”

The Bulldogs pinned up pictures of the scoreboard from their loss in the Fall 2 title game throughout the school as a constant reminder of what they were working toward.

“To lose here last year the way we did it was a motivation all offseason,” said Old Rochester head coach Bryce Guilbeault. “We posted it all over the school and we talked about it every week. The goal was to come here and get a win."

Thursday’s win was extra sweet for Old Rochester, which wrapped up the South Coast Conference Blue Division title.

“We already had a share of the title, but to win it outright, it’s a great way to send off the seniors,” Guilbeault said. “I’m proud of the way the kids played. They came out ready to go and they played hard.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Old Rochester won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The Bulldogs made a statement on their first drive as they marched down the field on a combination of runs from Profit and juniors Harry Hughes and Jacksen Martin before junior quarterback Noah Sommers scored on an 18-yard touchdown run. The first of four extra points in the game by sophomore Remy Wilson gave ORR a 7-0 lead with 8:39 left in the first quarter.

Apponequet fumbled on its first possession of the game and the Bulldogs recovered in Laker territory. It took ORR just three plays to find the end zone on a 31-yard scoring strike from Sommers to Hughes to go ahead 14-0 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

“It was all effort and attitude,” Profit said. “Last year we scored on the first drive and we rolled on our backs. Today we just kept swinging.

“It felt nice to get a lead and stay on top.”

Apponequet put together a solid drive on its next possession to get down to the ORR 35, but the Lakers’ offense stalled and turned over the ball on downs with an incomplete pass on fourth down.

The Bulldogs responded with a six-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped off by a 35-yard scamper by Hughes to take a commanding 21-0 lead with 6:03 left in the second quarter.

Apponequet’s next three possessions before halftime included two turnovers and one turnover on downs.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the first half,” said Apponequet head coach Zane Fyfe. “We had two or three drives when we were down in their territory and we could have scored and we didn’t. That will hurt you. If you can’t finish drives, you’re not going to win football games.

“It’s something we’ve got to work on. Hopefully we can get the younger kids going in the offseason and we’ll get prepared for next year.”

Apponequet came out of the halftime intermission and put together a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended just short of the goal line as senior Caleb Procaccini was stopped at the Old Rochester 3 on fourth and goal.

On Old Rochester’s next drive, the Bulldogs moved the ball down the field, but turned it over when junior Jackson Gagnier picked off the pitch on a hook-and-ladder play to set up the Lakers’ only scoring drive of the game.

Apponequet senior quarterback Jack Mahan hit senior Chris Murray in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass to pull the Lakers within 21-7 with 1.7 seconds left in the third quarter.

Old Rochester added a 27-yard touchdown pass from Sommers to Martin in the fourth quarter for the final margin of victory.

“It’s great,” Profit said. “It was just a great way to come out and capitalize on the season. Everyone did what they needed to do and the scoreboard shows that. It was a great way to finish the season.”

Hughes added, “It’s a good feeling that the SCC (championship) is back at Old Rochester.”

With only three starters on both sides of the ball graduating, the future is bright for the Bulldogs.

“We’ve got eight starters coming back on both sides of the ball,” Guilbeault said. “I told the juniors today that, ‘Today is the first day of your senior year. You’ve got to start leading today.’ They stepped up. Jacksen Martin was phenomenal today. Harry Hughes was phenomenal. Noah Sommers played great. All of the linemen except for one are underclassmen. We’re excited about the future, but today is about the seniors and ending their career the right way.”

WHAT IT MEANS: The Bulldogs, who bounced back from their Div. 5 playoff loss to Pentucket, beat Apponequet for the sixth straight time on Thanksgiving. “It’s tough in the new format where you lose a playoff game and you have to turn around and play on Thanksgiving. Any other sport, you lose, you're done,” said Guilbeault, whose team finished 7-3. “I’m glad the kids rebounded and put it behind them. They had a great year.” … The loss was the fourth straight for Apponequet, which finished the year with a record of 3-7.

SOUTHCOASTVARSITY PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sommers had a hand in three of Old Rochester’s four touchdowns, throwing for two and running for another.

GUILBEAULT ON OLD ROCHESTER’S SENIORS: “We don’t have a ton of seniors, but they all play a role on the team — whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. They’ve been great as far as leadership goes. They set an example. They’re always 100% at practice.”

FYFE ON APPONEQUET’S SENIORS: “We’re proud of them. It’s been a privilege coaching these seniors. They’re great kids. There’s 10 or 11 seniors and they’re a great class. We’ve been proud to be their coaches and hopefully we’ve taught them some things they’ll take with them for the rest of their lives.”

OLD ROCHESTER STATS: The Bulldogs had 281 yards of offense with 193 on the ground and 88 through the air. ORR picked up nine first downs and had three turnovers.

APPONEQUET STATS: Of the Lakers’ 267 yards of total offense, 139 came on the ground and 128 through the air. Apponequet had 19 first downs, but turned over the ball four times.

NOTES: It was the seventh outright conference title for Old Rochester.

OLD ROCHESTER 28, APPONEQUET 7

OLD ROCHESTER;14;7;0;7 — 28

APPONEQUET;0;0;7;0 — 7

Scoring

First Quarter

OR: Noah Sommers 18 run (Remy Wilson kick), 8:39

OR: Harry Hughes 31 pass from Noah Sommers (Remy Wilson kick), 2:43

Second Quarter

OR: Harry Hughes 35 run (Remy Wilson kick), 6:03

Third Quarter

A: Chris Murray 13 pass from Jack Mahan (Tanner Audaytis kick), :01.7

Fourth Quarter

OR: Jacksen Martin 27 pass from Noah Sommers (Remy Wilson kick), 4:08

Individual Statistics

Rushing — OR: Harry Hughes 15-134-1, Zach Profit 2-7, Jacksen Martin 8-30, Noah Sommers 7-22-1; A: Vincent Oliveiri 2-10, Jackson Gagnier 19-94, Harry Lemieux 3-(-3), Jack Mahan 7-35, Caleb Procaccini 2-3.

Passing — OR: Noah Sommers 4-9-88-2-1; A: Jack Mahan 13-33-128-1-1.

Receiving — OR: Zach Profit 2-30, Jacksen Martin 1-27-1, Harry Hughes 1-31-1; A: Quinn Saltzman 2-24, Chris Murray 3-37-1, Vincent Oliveiri 4-29, Jackson Gagnier 1-15, Harry Lemieux 2-14, Reid Kuliga 1-9.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Old Rochester beats Apponequet to win SCC Blue championship