D5 Mites Lose in Playoff Thriller

MIDDLEBORO – The Barnstable Silver Bullets D5 Mites fell Sunday morning, 28-20, in a back and forth thriller versus Scituate and finished their season at 3-6, matching last year’s mark.
      Running back Manny Perry collected 200 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns on the day, including 135 yards rushing on 12 carries and a 65-yard kick-off return score.
      On defense, linebackers Marcus Cunningham, Matt Lambert and Anthony DeBarros played relentlessly, and on three separate series, Barnstable stopped a hard-charging Scituate offense.
      Things started off fast-paced and hectic for Barnstable , as the Silver Bullets lost the coin toss and had to kick off. Pedro Almeida launched a fantastic, deep kick, followed by an outstanding dual open-field tackle by Bryan Hardy and Perry to leave Scituate on their own 20-yard-line.
      Scituate wasted little time running outside for a gain of 7 yards on 1st and 10, as the running back was brought down by middle linebacker Matt Lambert to make it 2nd and 3 on the 27. On the ensuing play, Scituate went around the end on the opposite side, with the running back being met by cornerback Scott Warren, but the gain was good enough for a first down and the ball was on the 35.
      On 1st and 10 again, Scituate capitalized on its momentum and ran it in 65 yards for a touchdown to make it 6-0. The two-point PAT was good and Scituate led early, 8-0.
Barnstable would have none of that and on its first offensive play of the game, Perry ran through a truck-sized hole and raced 65 yards for a touchdown. Quarerback Andrew Falacci busted through the middle on a QB sneak and the score was deadlocked at 8-8.
      On Scituate ’s next possession, DeBarros, Hardy and Falacci each made fantastic hits on defense to make it 4th and 10. The quarter expired and the two teams switched sides. The three successive stops, however, were not enough as Scituate once more found an open seam and took advantage of it, running it all the way in for a touchdown to make it 14-8 at the 7:51 mark of the second quarter.
      Defensive end Mark Lambert came up huge on the two-point PAT, stuffing the run and keeping the score tight at 14-8.

     Barnstable seemed charged up by the play and on the kickoff found itself in solid field position at its own 35-yard line. Perry took the ball first, gaining three yards off-tackle to make it 2nd and 7 on the 38, but on the ensuing play, a 10-yard run by Colby Blaze was called back on a holding penalty and Barnstable found itself back on the 28-yard line and 2nd down and 17 to go. Perry took the rock again and gained five yards on the ensuing play, but the 3rd and 12 situation the Silver Bullets found themselves in seemed precarious at best.
      Blaze took the ball once more and gained six critical yards, but Barnstable was left with 4th and six to go. Blaze got the ball again and gained three yards, but it was not enough as Barnstable gave up the ball deep in its own territory.
The defense then stepped it up big-time as Scituate tried to break the game open, stuffing Scituate on four consecutive plays to gain the ball back on the 15-yard line. Led by Cunningham, Barnstable seemed poised to strike and strike it did.
      In a six-play possession that began with an eight-yard Falacci sneak up the middle, the tall, lanky quarterback proceeded to chew up valuable turf. On 2nd and 2, Falacci ran a bootleg left and cut upfield for a gain of 14 yards and a critical first down. On the ensuing play, Daryl Frye gained a yard to make 2nd and 9, but then a clipping penalty caused the Silver Bullets to again lose 10 crucial yards. On 2rd and 19, Falacci again tried a bootleg keeper left, but he was met with fierce Scituate opposition and a result of six more lost yards. On 3rd and 25, Perry answered the call and was gone… 60 yards for the touchdown. The score was tied at 14-14. The two-point PAT failed and with 3:03 remaining in the ballgame, the Barnstable defense had little choice but to stop Scituate from going to halftime with a lead.
      Again Cunningham and Warren stepped up and delivered crushing blows to stave off the Scituate running attack. At halftime, the score was tied, 14-14.
Barnstable received to start the second half and opted for smashmouth football, but Perry found little breathing room on his attempt to sweep outside on a Mark Lambert block and lost five yards. On 2nd and 15, perry regained the five yards, but Barnstable now found itself at 3rd and 10.Falacci faked a dive and kept the ball but found himself running straight into a Scituate steel curtain for a loss of one yard one the play. At 4th and 11, Perry tried to get outside but his two-yard gain was not enough as Scituate regained ball possession.
      Scituate took advantage of its defensive stand and with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter, opted for a nifty pass play in the end zone to make it 22-14.
Perry wanted no part of a growing Scituate lead and on the ensuing kick-off picked up the loose ball, juked a pair of would-be tacklers, and raced like lightning down the sideline for his third touchdown of the day with special thanks to a fantastic block by Anthony DeBarros. The two-point PAT failed, but Barnstable was back in the ballgame, still trailing Scituate , 22-20.
      With the fourth quarter clock ticking, Scituate made one final stand against a tough, but weary Barnstable defense, pounding away at the Silver Bullets on play after play. Driving hard down field, Barnstable seemed poised, however, to stop Scituate and repossess the ball, but as fate would have it, this was not the Silver Bullets’ day.
Running up the middle and spinning off two tackles, the Scituate ball carrier found an open seam and jaunted 30 yards into the end zone to make it 28-20. On its last defensive play of the season, defensive end Mark Lambert and linebacker Marcus Cunningham busted through the Scituate line and stuffed the ball carrier to stop the two-point PAT. Barnstable would have one last chance and 1:45 left to try and tie the ballgame.
      Perry took the ball first but was hit hard in the backfield for a loss of 10. Fortunately, Scituate picked up a facemask penalty and the loss of 10 turned into a gain of 5. Perry then picked up the first down with another five-yard gain, but successive runs could not stop the clock. Time and again Perry tried to break it open, but time was not on Barnstable ’s side as the clock ran down and the Bullets had no time outs left.
      Other superb performances on the day included cornerback Timmy Roderiques, tackle Jonathan Eldredge, noseguards Conor Walsh, Justus Chaffee and Elijah Daniels, defensive tackle Jack Newton, linebacker Danny Johnson and safety Rob Stuart.
      On offense, the front line of Mike Dombrowski, Hayden Murphy, Walsh, Michael Joyce and Bryan Hardy all did a fantastic job.
      The Silver Bullets D5 Mites entire team played a phenomenal season, improving vastly as the season progressed. The team included: Drew Lambert (linebacker), Max Lambert (running back), Taryn Tinti (noseguard), Colby McWilliams (safety), John Hardy (cornerback), Darien Kaski (cornerback), Eric Rogorzinski (running back), Hannah Broberg (tight end), Andrew Johnson (guard), Trevor Sayers (guard), Thomas Harrington (tackle), Kevin Huska (running back), Matthew Tracy (quarterback), Matthew Gardiner (defensive end) and Scott Girvan (center).