D1 Mites Roll Over Silver Lake , 28-0

KINGSTON – The Barnstable Silver Bullets D1 Mites turned in a confident, unyielding performance Sunday afternoon at Silver Lake Regional High School , defeating the host Silver Lake Warriors, 28-0.
      Running back Charlie Rice collected 62 yards rushing on two carries and had two touchdowns on the day, followed by Tedero Franz who scored with 0:44 remaining in the first half on a magnificent, 35-yard jaunt into paydirt. Quarterback P.J. Crosby and fullback Damian Johnson each collected two-point PATs.

      Back-up quarterback Ryan Desmond staged a perfect ball fake bootleg for the Silver Bullets’ final score of the day, sprinting 30 yards into the end zone with 4:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
      The victory was Barnstable ’s third consecutive shutout (fourth overall) since an unexpected 6-0, non-league loss at Rockland . Now at 5-1-1 on the season with one regular season game remaining, the stingy D1 Mites’ defense has allowed just 14 points to its opponents.

First Quarter

      It was head coach Paul Hickey’s rough and tumble defense that set the tone of the day’s effort as the D5 Mites met host Silver Lake at midfield to begin the afternoon. After a short 4-yard pop pass, Silver Lake fumbled the handoff on 2nd and six and looked at third and 7 to go. Defensive end Everett Walsh pursued the ball carrier on the third down play and made a nice tackle to leave Silver Lake seemingly stuck in the middle of the field on fourth down and five to go. Noseguard Andrew Ellis and middle linebacker Cam Crocker did the dirty work this time, stuffing the Silver Lake ball carrier on a run up the gut, thus giving Barnstable the ball on the 42-yard line.
      Crocker took the rock first, bursting up the middle for a gain of four yards to make it 2nd and 6 at the Barnstable 48. Running back Bobby Melley’s turn came next and he came through as usual, hammering away for a gain of 10 yards and the Barnstable first down. At the Silver Lake 42-yard line, Franz took his turn on 1st and 10 and picked up two yards to make it 2nd and 8. Crocker followed suit with two yards of his own to make it 3rd and 6. With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Melley got the ball again but Silver Lake got through the usually tough line and no yards were gained.
      On fourth and four to go, Melley did not want to relent, nor did Walsh and tackle Zach Stevens who handed in excellent blocks to help Melley garner a critical first down.

      Then entered Rice.
      With 1st and 10 and seated squarely on the 30-yard line, the speedy back got the nod and took off, 30 yards to glory. On a nice ball fake, Crosby then got the nod for the two-point PAT and made it in. Barnstable led Silver Lake , 8-0.
Melley followed the two scores with a deep kick-off to give Silver Lake the ball at their own 30-yard line and 0:16 remaining in the quarter. On 1st and 10, Silver Lake fumbled but recovered, and the quarter expired.

Second Quarter

      Facing a 2nd and 10 on their own 30, Silver Lake tried going off tackle but this time was met by defensive tackle Damian Johnson and Melley for a gain of only three. On 3rd and seven, Walsh made a solid stop in the middle, leaving Silver Lake short of the first down. On 4th and inches, Silver Lake opted for a quarterback sneak up the gut and gained a couple of feet, good enough for the first down but notwithstanding the brick wall he met in Crocker.
      With 5:48 remaining in the first half and 1st and 10 on the 40, Melley offered the Silver Lake running attack nothing. On second down, Johnson offered even less, and by the time 4th down arrived, Silver Lake had a steep mountain to climb. A false start made it 4th and incredibly long for the hosts, but Hickey decided to leave nothing to chance and unleashed the “sharks,” as it were.
      Dropping back to pass, the Silver Lake quarterback was met simultaneously by Walsh, Melley, Rob Dombrowski and Johnson to put the ball back in the hands of the Barnstable offense at the Silver Lake 32.
      One play is all it would take to break this affair wide open.
      Giving the ball to Rice again on the outside, the stoic speedster found an inch of daylight and turned it into 32 yards of touchdown glory, his second of the day, with special thanks to great blocks by Kevin Ostrom (guard) and Alex Grove (tackle). The two-point PAT was denied, but Barnstable had a 14-0 lead with 1:03 remaining in the half.
      Melley offered another tremendous kick-off, this time emphasized by a superb open-field, solo tackle by the fleet-footed Joe D’Olimpio.
With the half-time clock ticking down, the Barnstable defense was sent in once more and this time the revved up boys would make quick work of Silver Lake ’s meager offerings. On 1st and 10, Johnson blitzed in and hammered the host quarterback, causing a fumble. Melley was on the spot in a flash and recovered the loose ball. With 0:58 remaining in the half, and fresh off its second touchdown of the day, Barnstable found itself poised to strike once more.
      And once again, one play was all it took, this time to the crafty and hard-nosed Tedero Franz who zig-zagged his way from right to left to find daylight and found it he did, 35 yards to the end zone. Johnson got the nod for the two-point PAT and with 0:42 left, Barnstable was ahead, 22-0.
      Again Melley booted it deep and once again D’Olimpio sprinted downfield to greet the ball carrier with a vengeance. On 1st and 10 with the ball on their own 34, Melley dropped the ball carrier for a four-yard loss and the first half expired.

Third Quarter

Tedero Franz led the second half with a 12-yard kickoff return, giving Barnstable solid field position at the 46.
      Quarterback Ryan Desmond made a pass attempt on 1st and 10 but it was to no avail, followed by a gutsy run up the middle by Dominic Giavannone. Unfortunately, Giavannon’s first run of the day would be his last as he took a hard hit and had to come out of the game. Desmond made a spectacular 15-yard run on 4th and 10, but it was not enough as a block-in-the-back penalty forced Barnstable to turn the ball over on downs at midfield.
     Silver Lake had the ball 1st and 10 at the 52 but the Warriors’ first string was no match for a nice hit by defensive tackle Cam LaRiviere who stuffed the quarterback on a sneak up the middle. On 2nd and 9, Silver Lake fumbled but recovered it and with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter, Barnstable ’s level of confidence was gaining. On third and long, Silver Lake fumbled again and recovered again, leaving the hosts in a 4th and long situation. Hungry for a taste of red and black, Tyler Kennedy applied heavy pressure to the ball carrier on a wide pitch, dropping him hard and for a loss of 10. The ball was once again Barnstable ’s.
      With 1:09 remaining in the third quarter, Dylan Newman carried the ball on 1st and 10 for a gain of one yard, but on the ensuing 2nd and 9 play, Barnstable fumbled the ball and Silver Lake recovered on the 40. With only 0:11 remaining in the quarter, and Silver Lake eager to get the ball moving, Ryan Litchman answered “No dice” and dropped the Silver Lake ball carrier for a loss of five.

Fourth Quarter
      On 2nd and 15, Kennedy followed suit for a one-yard Silver Lake loss and the hosts now stared at 3rd and 16 with 7:33 to go. Two consecutive fumbles and Barnstable again had ball control and stood at the 30-yard line with 5:51 remaining. Dombrowski and Desmond each made attempts to get the ball moving but the Silver Lake defense seemed somehow revived, albeit momentarily, as Desmond then took it upon himself to put a final exclamation mark on the day.
      Executing a perfect ball fake, Desmond bootlegged 30 yards, untouched, and in so doing had realized his first touchdown of the season. A two-point Pat attempt may have failed, but Barnstable ’s lead now stood at 28-0 with 2:28 left to go.
Kennedy, Kevin Hardy, Litchman and Dombrowski each collected tackles to finish the day and time expired.
      The Silver Bullets face an undefeated Hingham team this Saturday night, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. in Hyannis .