St. Mary's ends Rockland High football team's bid at a Division 6 state-title repeat

WALPOLE – Friday’s Division 6 state semifinal between the St. Mary’s and Rockland High football teams came down to the breaks.

The Spartans were a little better at making the most of their bounces, which is why they defeated the Bulldogs, 15-14, to clinch a spot in the state final at Gillette Stadium and end Rockland’s title defense.  No. 3 St. Mary's (10-1) will play the winner of Saturday's semifinal between No. 13 Cardinal Spellman and No. 1 Stoneham (2:30 p.m. at Weston High).

“We got some breaks tonight and we made some plays, that’s the sign of a good football team,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll.

More:Find all MIAA high school football state semifinal scores here

With 7:38 remaining, No. 2 Rockland (7-3) recovered a Spartan fumble near midfield and embarked on a 15-play drive that included three fourth-down conversions and drained the clock to 1:13.

But the Bulldogs failed to turn that into points.

The third fourth-down conversion came on a defensive pass interference on a fourth-and-12 that moved the ball to the 15. Rockland quarterback Michael Moriarty didn't return after that play due to injury and junior Jordan DePina was called upon in a tough spot for a backup quarterback. DePina's runs on first and second down resulted in zero yards, and his attempt at escaping a sack by throwing the ball away resulted in a game-sealing interception by Joel Maggs with 1:23 remaining.

Rockland's other fourth-down conversions on that drive were a 25-yard pass from Moriarty to Coulstring on fourth-and-long and a four-yard run by Lucas Leander that needed a chain measurement.

“Probably a great high school football games for you guys to watch, that’s for sure,” said Rockland coach Nick Liquori to reporters after the game. “Taking (Moriarty) out put us behind the 8-ball a little bit but the kids never quit, that’s all I really ever ask for. They’re real emotional, which is to be expected. It’s a great high school football game, unfortunately somebody has got to win and somebody’s got to lose.”

More:Find all MIAA high school state championship scores here

When the Bulldogs made mistakes, the Spartans made sure those opportunities weren’t wasted. Rockland looked to be taking a lead heading into halftime on a 14-play drive, but senior Lucas Leander fumbled just outside the goal line and the ball went out of bounds for a touchback with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter. That allowed the Spartans to hold a 7-6 lead into halftime.

Rockland then turned the ball over on downs on its first drive of the second half. The Spartans looked well on their way to a three-and-out when the pocket collapsed on quarterback Tyler Guy, but the sophomore scrambled to extend the play long enough to get a pass off to wide-open senior Nick Sacco, who rumbled his way for a 58-yard TD catch.

“(Sacco) got himself open and our quarterback, just before he got tackled, just to throw a little dart out there and we were fortunate,” said Driscoll.

The damage wasn’t done yet, as the Spartans baited the Bulldogs into jumping offsides on the extra-point kick. With the nudge closer to the goal-line, St. Mary’s opted to go for two points instead, which was successful when Derick Coulanges plunged into the end zone. That put the Spartans up by two scores, 15-6, with 7:29 left in the third quarter.

“I think the biggest play is the 2-point conversion, when they went offsides,” said Driscoll. “Credit to our guys for holding in there and going for the snap count, we were fortunate with that. And then you’ve got to get a yard-and-a-half. If you’re going to be the best team, then you’ve got to get a yard.”

Rockland’s next drive ended fruitlessly, but the Bulldogs got a jolt with a defensive stand late in the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-3 at its own 48 to open the fourth quarter, St. Mary’s chose to punt. Leander expressed his delight with the decision by breaking off a 55-yard run on the first play of the ensuing Rockland drive. He made a diving catch on a third-and-8 to extend the drive before Coulstring (34 carries, 136 yards, two TDs) capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run to cut the deficit to 15-12 with 8:39 remaining.

After Maggs’ interception, the Spartans still had 1:13 remaining. The Bulldogs stopped three runs to force the Spartans into a fourth-down situation with seven seconds remaining. The Spartans opted to take a safety with two seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff, St. Mary’s David Brown intercepted Rockland’s fourth lateral attempt to end the game.

Brown returned for Friday’s game after missing the quarterfinals against Lynnfield due to injury. He finished with 74 yards of offense.

“It was great to have him because he brings that balance,” said Driscoll.

The Spartans scored first on an 11-play drive. St. Mary’s caught a break with a third-down pass interference on the third play of the drive. Two plays after Brown hauled in a 26-yard catch on a jump ball from Guy, Coulanges scored on a 4-yard TD run and Michael Anderson’s extra point put the Spartans up 7-0 with 9:26 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs answered quick with an eight-play drive, seven of which were Coulstring runs. He ran through contact on a 10-yard TD run to cut the deficit to 7-6. The only play he wasn’t involved with on the drive was a 15-yard Leander run.

Leander and Coulstring were responsible for all 169 of Rockland’s first-half yards. The duo combined for 303 yards of offense in the loss.

The loss ended Rockland’s run at repeating as state champs, but doesn’t take away from a stellar four-year run by the senior class. The Bulldogs have posted a 34-7 record over the last four seasons with eight playoff wins. That class is led by captains Leander, Moriarty, Austin Clarke and Leary Costa.

“It’s building momentum,” said Liquori of the seniors' contributions. “They learned from a lot of their predecessors. A lot of these guys had brothers who played in that COVID year and didn’t have an opportunity to do some of that stuff. Having these guys, it’s awesome for the program. It’s heartbreaking right now for them, for myself, but this catapults the program to continue go in the direction we’ve been going.”

““I thought we got a tough draw going in based on our seed,” said Driscoll. “Archbishop Williams (in the first round) and then a tough Lynnfield team without one of our best players (David Brown) and to beat this team, which I thought was still the best team in the program was a huge win for our program. They’re so well coached. They’re good year in and year out. If you look at the last 10 years, they’re a pretty good program and I’m happy for my guys. They earned it, they worked hard for it and I’m happy for them.”

For the Spartans, this kicks off a tour of professional stadiums. The Spartans will play Austin Prep on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Fenway Park and then make the trip to Gillette Stadium for the Super Bowl.

“That’s quite an honor,” said Driscoll.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Rockland High football loses in state semifinals