Div. 5 Pee Wees Reveal Fantastic Defense and Win 14-0

If their final performance of the regular season is any indication of good things to come, then the road to the playoffs should be paved in Red and White for the Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Pee Wees.
      Thanks to touchdowns by Theo France and Charlie Rice, and perhaps the team's best defensive output of the season, the Silver Bullets Division 5 Pee Wee's held onto a solid, 14-0 victory over host Middleboro Saturday night to finish at 5-1-2 on the regular season.
      Starting quarterback P.J. Crosby gave his best effort of 2004 by going 3-5 in the air with 44 yards. Also of note was halfback Damon Blake who added a nice, 20-yard touchdown pass to Rice.
      Twice in this hard-earned victory, Barnstable held Middleboro on the goal line, a total of eight plays the Silver Bullets' shut the door on their hosts.
      Led by defensive end Everett Walsh, noseguard Cam Crocker, linebacker Dominique Tillman, defensive tackle Nick Cincotta, defensive end/tackle Zach Stevens and defensive end/tackle Bob Melley - who combined for an amazing 18.5 tackles on the evening - Barnstable was a force to be reckoned with when asked to defend its own end zone.
      Walsh gave his best defensive performance of the season, leading the defense with 7.5 tackles (one kickoff tackle), including four successive tackles (one assisted with Tillman) on the goal line on Middleboro's last offensive drive of the third quarter. Melley and Crocker were equally impressive, collecting a combined nine tackles, five for Crocker and four for Melley (2 solo and 4 assisted). Tillman, the team leader in tackles this season, gave his usual outstanding effort. Cincotta, playing as if lit afire, made two of the hardest hits seen this season, one in hot pursuit of the ball carrier along the sidelines.
      Other solid defensive outputs belonged to linebacker Damon Blake (1 tackle), linebacker Joe D'Olimpio (1.5 tackles), defensive back Theo France (1 tackle), linebacker Devin Broadley (1.5 tackles), and hard-hitting cornerback Kevin Hardy (1 tackle).
      Middle linebacker Kevin "The Raging Bull" Ostrom was out of commission for this contest after suffering a slight eye injury while hunting wild turkey two weekends ago. The stocky powerhouse is expected to return to action this week for the playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 6.

The Play by Play
Kevin Hardy set the tone on the opening kickoff with a valiant kick return, carrying two Middleboro defenders on his back when they forced him out of bounds at the Barnstable 37-yard line.
      Switching roles this week from his usual slot at quarterback to the halfback slot, Damon Blake gained four yards on the first play of the game, bringing up 2nd and 6. Crosby then rolled out and kept it but was met head on by the Middleboro "D," for a loss of three yards to bring up 3rd and 9. Another tough hit on the ensuing play for a loss of four yards brought up 4th and 13 and Barnstable was forced to punt.
       Alex Grove put on a brilliant display of fine tackling technique when he hammered the Middleboro punt returner out of bounds at midfield.
      On 1st and 10, Melley, Crocker and Broadley converged on the Middleboro ball carrier and converged hard, bringing up 2nd and about five. On the ensuing play, Crocker tripped up the ball carrier as he tried to break out into the open, bringing up 3rd and 1. Melley made the next hit - a fine solo tackle - but it was enough for a Middleboro first down.
      Poised to strike on the Barnstable 23-yard line and on first and 10, Devin Broadley stepped into the breach and offered a fine "How Do you Do?" to the Middleboro running back. Dominique Tillman followed suit to give the runner zero yards, but Middleboro was pushing hard. Melley would have none of it and gave the ball carrier a taste of the Silver Bullet tackling power. On third and goal on the 4-yard line, Everett Walsh then took his turn, offering the Middleboro ball carrier nothing. On fourth and goal with just over a minute left in the First Quarter, Melley and Crocker once again converged to bury Middleboro's hopes and dreams. Barnstable had succeeded in stopping their hosts, stone cold on the goal line.
      Deep in their own territory with 0:39 on the clock, Blake got the nod again, but was dropped for a loss of one yard to bring up 2nd and 11. Blake took it again, gaining just one to bring up 3rd and 10, and the first quarter ended.
      On third and 10 on the first play of the second quarter, P.J. Crosby rolled right and found Charlie Rice in heavy coverage, good for 20 yards and a Barnstable first down.
      Blake carried the ball for a solid gain on the next play, but a holding penalty cost the Silver Bullets 10 yards. On First and 20, Blake got around the end once again, but soggy turf caused the speedy back to fall at the line of scrimmage, bringing up 2nd and 20. Blake got the nod again, but it did not seem like Barnstable could muster what it needed to fly. On third and 20, Crosby this time found Blake wide open for a gain of 12 yards to bring up 4th and 8. Broadley was forced to punting duty but Nick Cincotta, in a blaze of fire, hammered the Middleboro kick returner so hard on the sideline it was a wonder the opponent stood up.
      Middleboro took over ball control on the 35-yard line with 3:43 left in the first half.
      Enter Tillman on first and 1- on a blitz and bam! Middleboro suffered a loss of one to bring up 2nd and 11. On the ensuing play, Melley, Tillman and Blake joined forces for barely a gain of 1 to bring up 3rd and 11. On 3rd and 10, Cincotta laid the hammer down on the Middleboro running back, and hard. On 4th and 10, "Big" Zach Stevens came trucking like a steam train through the line and shut the Middleboro offensive door for good, a solo hit for a loss of five yards on the play.
      With 1:40 left in the half, Barnstable had a chance to go to halftime with the lead and valuable momentum.
       Theo France got the rock first, gaining four yards to bring up 2nd and 6. Blake went to the well, but came up dry, losing one yard to bring up 3rd and 7. He then made up for it with a fantastic, 13-yard jaunt to the 50-yard line to give Barnstable a first and 10 situation with just 0:15 remaining in the half.
      Crosby went to the air to Walsh who made a diving grab for a gain of 12, then followed suit with a beautiful, 20-yard pass to Rice, but it was too little, too late. The clock on the first half ran out, but the Bullets had shown they were poised to take this game as its own. The score at halftime: 0-0.
      At the opening of the second half, Melley launched the best kick of his young career, a 50-yard boot leaving Middleboro in no-man's land on its own 10-yard line.
      He then offered even more when he and defensive tackle Alex Grove landed a good tackle in pursuit of the Middleboro ball carrier, but it was an 11-yard gain for the first down on the 21-yard line.
      Crocker then caused Middleboro to fumble with heavy pressure on the center and quarterback exchange, bringing up 2nd and 15. The rock solid nose-man - fired up and ready to explode - then hammered the ball carrier on an attempt up the gut for a measly gain of two. On third and 13, Walsh and defensive tackle Cam Lariviere converged on the running back for a gain of zero.
      Attempting anything it could to gain ground on an unforgiving Barnstable defense, Middleboro opted for a reverse, end around trying to exploit a double team on Walsh. Walsh broke free of the double team and nailed the Middleboro back, thus ending the hosts' vain attempt to do something offensively.
Crosby rolled out and picked up one on a naked bootleg, then an incomplete pass was nullified when Middleboro went offsides, bringing up second and goal. With 3:33 left in the third quarter, Theo France busted into paydirt to make it 6-0, Red and White. The two-point PAT failed, but Barnstable had garnered all it would need on offense to win this defensive showcase.
      France followed suit with a sweet open-field kickoff tackle on the heels of yet another deep boot by Melley, followed by Tillman and Walsh converging on first and 10 for a gain of nothing on Middleboro's own 15.
      On second and 10, Walsh made a solid solo tackle to bring up 3rd and 8. Walsh followed with another nice tackle to make it 4th and 8, and on 4th and 8, oddly, Middleboro tried once more to go to Walsh's side. To no avail, the defensive end was ready and waiting and Middleboro went nowhere on the last play of the third quarter. On four successive plays, deep in Middleboro territory, Walsh made each hit.
Deep in Middleboro territory, Blake opened the fourth quarter with a nice 10-yard run to the six-yard line. A false start made it 1st and 15 on the Middleboro 11. Another false start, pushed Barnstable to the 16-yard line to bring up 1st and 20. Blake hopped into the quarterback slot to spell a battle-weary Crosby, and rolled right on the first play, attempting to hit France in the flat. Nothing.
      On second and 20, Blake kept the rock and gained three to bring up 3rd and 17 with 5:25 remaining in the game. On 3rd and 17, Balke rolled left and voila! Rice was wide open and Blake hit him in the numbers to make it 12-0, Barnstable. France picked up the crucial two-point PAT and the Silver Bullets led, 14-0.
      Walsh picked up the tackle on Melley's kickoff as Middleboro took over on its own 36-yard line with 4:26 to go.
      Stevens made the first hit - a vicious one - knocking the Middleboro ball carrier out of bounds at the 40 to bring up 2nd and 6. Linebacker Joe D'Olimpio followed suit with a fine tackle of his own, but Middleboro had gained the first down.
      On 1st and 10, Crocker made a fine solo hit for a loss of four yards, giving Middleboro little hope on 2nd and 14. This time, Stevens and Tillman tag-teamed the Middleboro ball handler deep in the backfield for a loss of six yards to bring up an insurmountable 3rd and 20 scenario.
      Melley and D'Olimpio then combined on the next hit followed by the grande finale, a nice tackle by Crocker.
      Barnstable regained possession of the pigskin and ran the clock down until the game had ended, a hard-earned, 14-0 victory.
      The Division 5 Pee Wees head to the playoffs on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2:00 p.m. at Marshfield High School versus Marshfield. The last match-up between these two teams ended in a 6-6 tie.