Division 5 Mites Remain Unbeaten at 6-0-1

Defense was the name of the game Sunday afternoon at Marshfield High School, as the Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Mites posted their fifth shutout in a gutsy, 6-0, victory over Marshfield. The Division 5 Mites now stand at 6-0-1 on the season.
      Darien Kaski posted the lone score of the day on a beautiful, 29-yard run in the first quarter to make it 6-0, and that was all the offense that would be had for the day.
      On defense, Barnstable arguably played its best game to date, allowing just one first down and a total of negative 26 yards of offense on eight defensive stands. Noseguard Lee Hickey played his best game of the season, outdoing last week's solid effort by causing five of seven fumbles forced by the Silver Bullet defense on the day. Defensive tackle Clyde Perry (1.5 tackles) caused one fumble and recovered it early in the game.
      Defensive end Hayden Murphy was a dominant force throughout the affair, collecting five tackles in all. Combined with fellow defensive end Rob Stuart (two assisted tackles), the duo shut down several attempted reverse plays by the Marshfield offense.
      Outside linebacker Conor Walsh played exceptionally well, turning in 3.5 tackles including a key quarterback sack on fourth down to give Barnstable possession of the ball.
      Other solid defensive efforts were turned in by free safety Max Lambert (1.5 tackles), strong safety John Hardy, cornerback Matt Lambert (1.5 tackles), outside linebacker Marcus Cunningham (interception) and cornerback Justus Chaffee who recovered Murphy's game-opening kickoff to set up Barnstable's first-and-only score of the day in its first offensive series. Other players who turned in solid performances on defense included defensive tackle Josh Bestford (1 tackle) cornerbacks Kaski and Drew Lambert and free safety Greg Harris.
      Kaski collected 72 yards rushing on the day on 7 carries, including two runs of 29 yards each. The speedy tailback turned in an admirable, gutsy performance as he had to come off the field on two separate occasions due to taking hard hits, but returned each time to help lead his team to victory.
Cunningham had 32 yards rushing on six carries. Matt Lambert followed with three carries for 14 yards and Murphy had 21 yards on four carries. Barnstable was called for eight offensive penalties, setting the all-time record for Barnstable at the Division 5 Mites level. The team has never been called for more than three penalties in an entire game, including the postseason and this season the team had averaged just under one penalty per game.