Division 5 Mites Fall Hard to Hingham in 24-0 Super Bowl Defeat

      On the heels of an undefeated regular season and 34-6 whitewashing of Scituate in the Old Colony Youth Football League Playoffs, the Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Mites fell hard Sunday afternoon to Hingham, losing 24-0 in Barnstable first-ever trip to the Division 5 Mites Super Bowl.
While the Hingham High School field was snow-covered, slick with ice and deeply entrenched in mud and muck, the Bullets came out of the starting gates on fire with thanks to a spectacular 30-yard kickoff return by Darien Kaski. Kaski's kick-return placed Barnstable in great field position on the Hingham 30-yard line.
      Halfback Marcus Cunningham - who played a fantastic game on both sides of the ball - got the opening nod and gained eight years to bring up 2nd and 2. Conor Walsh then got the ball but was met at the line of scrimmage by four Hingham tacklers simultaneously to bring up 3rd and 2. Cunningham got the ball again for a gain of 1 and Barnstable stared at what appeared to be an achievable 4th and 1 scenario. Quarterback Hayden Murphy - who also played a phenomenal game on both sides of the ball - was given the directive to run a quarterback sneak, but Hingham jammed up the middle as they had done so successfully all season. Murphy did not get it and Barnstable turned the ball over on downs.
      Hingham came out charging hard, however, and garnered two first downs and a total of 28 yards to put the ball at midfield before committing a holding penalty and then suffering a crushing blow when Cunningham blitzed and dropped the Hingham ball carrier for a loss of four yards. Barnstable took over on downs right back where it had left off in its previous offensive set. Murphy, Kaski, defensive tackle Clyde Perry, Cunningham and Walsh had all succeeded in holding Hingham at bay.
      Cunningham got the opening nod once more in Barnstable's second offensive set, churning up nine yards to bring up 2nd and 1 on the Hingham 20, then followed suit with an eight-yard run on a reverse for the first down and the ball on the Hingham 12. On first and 10, Kaski took his turn but was met at the line of scrimmage to bring up 2nd and 10. Matt Lambert then got the rock and gained a gutsy three yards to bring up 3rd and 7. Cunningham got the nod once more but picked up just one yard to make it 4th and 6. Hingham was called for encroachment to make it 4th and 1 on the ensuing play, but a Cunningham attempt on fourth down was to no avail. Barnstable turned the ball over once more on the goal line.
      Hingham took advantage of a deflated Barnstable squad that had knocked on the end zone twice and could not pull off a score, running outside the corner for 25 yards before being knocked out of bounds. Walsh made the stop on the next play, but on the ensuing 2nd and 10 play at the Hingham 35-yard line, Hingham's Sam Berger went 65 yards around the corner to make it 6-0.
      Still, the Barnstable defense did not quit and on the two-point PAT conversion, Walsh and Perry hammered the back at the goal line, with Cunningham and Max Lambert finishing the job to keep the score at 6-0.
      Hingham kicked off to Barnstable but as the end of the first half drew near, the field conditions worsened. On first and 10, Barnstable fumbled the snap but recovered it to bring up 2nd and 10. On the ensuing play, Cunningham got the nod, but was given no room to angle and was taken at the line of scrimmage to bring up 3rd and 10. Then, he got the job done and rambled what appeared to be a first down. The run was to no avail, though, as the ball spot made it 4th and 3 for a gain of only seven. Matt Lambert got the nod next but gained only two, and Barnstable had turned the ball over once more in Hingham territory.
      Kaski and Perry combined on the first hit to drop the Hingham ball carrier for a loss of 1, but Hingham quickly regained nine of those yards - stopped short of a first down with thanks to free safety Max Lambert -- to bring up 3rd and 2. Lambert made the next tackle, but the damage was done and Hingham garnered its fourth first down of the half. Strong Safety Johnny Hardy and Murphy combined on the next hit to stop Hingham before it could gain any further momentum as the halftime clock expired.
Hingham led, 6-0 at the intermission.
      With the weariness of the Barnstable squad almost palpable, and its inability to erase self-doubt from not having taken advantage of its scoring opportunities, the regular-season champs were losing their trademark spark.
      Having opted to receive the game's opening kickoff, Barnstable was forced to kick in the second half and Hingham took advantage of the Barnstable strategy, running back a deep Hayden Murphy boot 40 yards before Justus Chaffee made a touchdown-saving tackle.
      Inspired by Chaffee's effort, defensive end Hayden Murphy made a brilliant tackle in the Hingham backfield for a six-yard loss to bring up 2nd and 16. Max Lambert followed on the ensuing play - having the game of his young career - with a solo tackle on a five-yard run that brought up 3rd and 11. Perry, who in essence "left it on the field," this cold, muddy day, made the next tackle to bring up 4th and 6. On 4th and 6, sensing this could be their last, best chance at turning the tide on Hingham, linebacker Conor Walsh and his partner in crime Perry made a beautiful stick at the line of scrimmage to stop Hingham cold and give Barnstable possession of the ball. The score remained 6-0, Hingham.
      Switching to its "power pack" offense, Murphy attempted to engineer a drive to put Barnstable on the scoreboard, opting to follow blockers Cunningham and Walsh, but on 1st and 10, the speedy quarterback could not get outside and was felled for a loss of 1 to bring up 2nd and 11. Barnstable then went to its staple reverse play, giving Kaski the ball, but Kaski was met in the backfield for yet another loss. Sensing it was in trouble, Barnstable then fumbled (but recovered it) on the ensuing play and went once again to Cunningham to try and get the job done. Cunningham could not bust through and the Silver Bullets were given a loss of two yards and had to turn the ball over to Hingham once again.
      On its fifth play of the third quarter, Hingham was met at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle chaffee and noseguard Tim Omerzu who had entered the game in place of the rough and tumble Lee Hickey. On 2nd and 9, corner Kaski and Omerzu took turns this time stopping the Hingham run to the outside to bring up 3rd and 2. But Barnstable had been put to the test long enough without getting on the board and the defense had grown somewhat battle-weary. On 3rd and 2, it was up to Max Lambert to make the stop, but the damage was done. Hingham earned another first down and on the ensuing play, it sealed Barnstable's fate with a 60-yard touchdown to make it 12-0. With thanks to an incredible effort by Omerzu, the impromptu Red defenseman single-handedly stopped the ball carrier on the goal line on the PAT attempt to leave it Hingham 12, Barnstable 0.
      Kaski returned the Hingham kick five yards with Barnstable still in position to get something done, but at this stage it would almost need a miracle to pull it off. Cunningham got the nod on the first play for a gain of one yard to make it 2nd and 9, but on the last play of the third quarter picked up 15 yards on his best run of the day for the first down. Barnstable was now left with just 8:00 to try and turn the ballgame around.
      Matt Lambert took the rock on 1st and 10 and picked up five yards to make it 2nd and 5 to go. Cunningham got the ball once more, gaining two yards but also taking a rough helmet to the back when he was already down, garnering Barnstable another first down on a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
At this critical stage, deep in Hingham territory on the Hingham 30, Barnstable had its last chance to do something offensively. On the ensuing play, a false start brough Barnstable back five yards to make it 1st and 15. Seeking a pair of fresh legs, Kevin Huska went into the ballgame, got the ball, and proceeded to gain a quick 8 yards on a fantastic run up the middle to bring up 2nd and 7. Huska got it once more and gained one, to make it 3rd and 6. On the ensuing play, the handoff went awry and Barnstable fumbled, bringing up 4th and 6. Barnstable then got pinned with a motion penalty to make it 4th and 11, and then a holding penalty on the ensuing play, but Hingham declined it and took over possession of the ball. Barnstable had simply run out of time and energy.
      With just 4:30 remaining in the game, Hingham started with a false start penalty, giving it 1st and 15, then was met in the backfield by Cunningham on a blitz to make it 2nd and 17. Defensive end Rob Stuart, Perry and Cunningham then converged on the ball carrier who had gained just two to make it 3rd and 15. On 3rd and 15, Hingham picked up seven yards with Hardy and Cunningham making the hit to make it 4th and 8. Hearing a strange directive from the sideline, Kaski's attention was taken away on the next play, and the Hingham back took advantage of the miscue, jaunting some 60 yards for a touchdown to make it 18-0, Hingham. Defensive tackle Riley Ashe made a beautiful stop on the two-point PAT to keep the score at 18-0, but the damage was done and Barnstable did not have the time to resurrect itself.
      Murphy gained four yards on a gutsy kick return, but Barnstable fumbled on its first snap, followed by a five yard loss on a keeper by quarterback Kraig Diggs. Barnstable fumbled again on third down and this time, Hingham recovered with just 0:26 remaining in the contest.
      On the final play of the game, Hingham ran a reverse play, and its ball carrier took off to drive the point home into the Silver Bullets, racing 45 yards for the touchdown and the 24-0 finale.