How Old Rochester football bounced back in a big way from last week's loss
NEW BEDFORD — Operation Reset was a success for Old Rochester Regional in a 27-0 South Coast Conference win at GNB Voc-Tech on Friday.
A week after being stifled by penalties and turnovers in a 24-21 loss at Dartmouth, the Bulldogs scored 14 points off turnovers on the way to handing the Bears their third-straight shutout.
"We had a great week of practice and we played with a lot of energy," said senior running back/linebacker Jacksen Martin, who ran for a game-high 83 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. "We were still upset about losing last week and we wanted to show what kind of team we are."
ORR head coach Bryce Guilbeault was happy with the balance his team showed throughout the game.
"Our defense played a great game and the turnovers helped us put some points on the board," Guilbeault said. "The kids executed our game plan on both sides of the ball. They did what they were asked to do."
Senior quarterback Noah Sommers said the Bulldogs came in hungry for redemption.
"We knew we had to come out and play well right away," Sommers said. "We mixed things up on defense and kept (Voc-Tech's) defense on its heels. We really found our stride tonight. We got riled up and got back on track with a big win on the road."
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Martin said the Bulldogs' early success throwing the ball (Sommers completed five of his first six passes for 42 yards in the first half) kept the Bears' defense guessing.
"We came out slinging the rock and that opened up the field for us," Martin said. "We were able to run the ball and pass it with success. We didn't do anything special. We just kept things simple and everybody did their job."
After getting off to a 1-1 start, the Bulldogs were looking to get back on track with an experienced team that's used to winning more games than it loses.
"This gives us a big shot of momentum," Martin said. "We needed a lift and everybody came through. It was a great team win. The kind of win that can get you rolling."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Martin scored on an 11-yard run to cap a 10-play game-opening drive that covered 70 yards and took 6:08 off the clock. The kick was no good though, leaving the Bulldogs with an early 6-0 lead.
ORR extended its advantage to 13-0 in the second quarter on a 65-yard pick six by senior defensive back Landon Maxwell and the first of three extra points by junior kicker Remy Wilson.
The Bulldogs capped their scoring with 14 points in the third quarter on a six-yard touchdown run by senior running back Walter Rosher and a 43-yard scamper by Martin.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Bulldogs improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in their conference opener. ... The Bears dropped to 1-3, 0-2. ... Both teams return to action on Friday. ORR hosts conference-rival Dighton-Rehoboth and Voc-Tech will play host to Old Colony.
KEY DRIVE: Trailing 13-0 with 3:36 left in the first half, the Bears took advantage of a 15-yard targeting penalty on the Bulldogs that moved the ball to the ORR 30-yard line. The next four plays (back-to-back sacks and back-to-back penalties) killed the drive though, and that took most of the wind out of the Bears' sails just before the halftime break.
OLD ROCHESTER STATS: The Bulldogs finished with 187 yards of total offense - 145 on the ground and 42 through the air. ... Rosher ran the ball 15 times for 49 yards and a touchdown. ... Sommers completed five of eight passes for 42 yards in the first half. He was 0 for 2 throwing the ball after the intermission, with an interception. ... Senior defensive lineman Nathaniel Robertson finished with a pair of sacks. ... Rosher also had a sack and the duo of senior linebacker Owen Pepin and junior defensive lineman Hunter Bishop combined for another sack. ... The Bulldogs' only punt of the night came on a fourth-and-12 at their own 28 early in the fourth quarter. ... ORR turned the ball over twice on a fumble in the first quarter and an interception in the third.
GNB VOC-TECH STATS: The Bears spun their wheels on offense, finishing with 117 yards of total offense - 61 rushing and 56 passing. ... Sophomore running back Aliaz Colon finished with a team-high 45 yards on 17 carries. ... Junior quarterback Jhaden Reis completed seven of 13 passes. ... Junior defensive back Jaren Quann had a third-quarter interception that gave the Bears a first-and-10 at the ORR 40, but they gave the ball right back to the Bulldogs on a first-down fumble. ... The Bears had two drives that ended with punts.
NOTES: Rosher has scored six touchdowns this season and is among the area's Top 10 scorers. ... The Bulldogs have scored 82 points (27.3 average) and their defense has allowed 44 points (14.7). ... The Bears have not scored since notching a 28-19 win over Southeastern in their season opener. They dropped a 7-0 decision to Dartmouth in Week 2 and fell by a score of 18-0 to Fairhaven in Week 3. They have been outscored 71-28 this season.
OLD ROCHESTER 27, GNB VOC-TECH 0
Old Rochester 6 7 14 0 — 27
GNB Voc-Tech 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring
First Quarter
ORR - Martin 11 run (kick missed), 5:52
Second Quarter
ORR - Maxwell 65 interception return (Wilson kick), 8:34
Third Quarter
ORR - Rosher 6 run (Wilson kick), 10:54
ORR - Martin 43 run (Wilson kick), 5:40
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
Individual Statistics
Rushing: ORR - Rosher 15-49, Hughes 3- (-1), Martin 7-83, Sommers 3-14; VT - Colon 17-45, Reis 12-(-3), Brightman 2-5, Sarkis 1-3, Murphy 1-6, Baptiste 2-5
Passing: ORR - Sommers 5-8-42; VT - Reis 7-13-56
Receiving: ORR - Maxwell 3-26, Arsenault 1-13, Martin 1-3; VT - Colon 2-20, I. Borges 2-13, Andrade 2-10, Vasconcelos 1-13
Records: ORR 2-1; VT 1-3
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Old Rochester football beats Greater New Bedford in SCC action
