Div. 5 Pee Wees Battle First Place Marshfield to 6-6 Tie

The Barnstable Sivler Bullets Division 5 Pee Wees picked up critical ground on first place Marshfield Sunday afternoon at Marshfield High School, but with one week remaining in the regular season it remains to be seen whether the Silver Bullets can take over first place.
      Marshfield remains atop first place at 5-1-1, while Barnstable is at 4-1-2, just one point behind in second place in the Old Colony Youth Football League standings.
      Quarterback Damon Blake notched Barnstable's sole score of the day, a 1-yard plunge into the end zone in the first quarter. The two-point conversion attempt - a pop pass to tight end Nick Cincotta - was thrown wide and failed.
      Blake was 1-8 passing with his sole completion of the day to Theo France, a two-yard gain on the last play of the third quarter. Blake gave it his all and had 8 carries for 20 hard-earned yards versus a tough Marshfield defense.
      Tailback Charlie Rice collected 37 yards on nine carries, perhaps his lowest tally in three season on the Silver Bullet gridiron. France had five carries for 15 yards, while the tough-to-tackle fullback Kevin Ostrom picked up 13 yards on six carries.
      Pacing the defense was noseguard Cam Crocker who recovered a critical fumble with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, deep in Marshfield territory to give Barnstable one last chance to win the ball game. Crocker placed exceptional pressure on Marshfield's running attack throughout the affair, collecting 3.5 tackles in all. Defensive end Bob Melley also played an exceptional first half, collecting three tackles in all.
      Linebackers Dominique Tillman and Damon Blake were equally impressive, with Blake posting two nice tackles and Tillman, a team-high 4.5 tackles.
      Other fine defensive efforts came from defensive end Zach Stevens (2 tackles), defensive tackle Everett Walsh (1.5 tackles), cornerback Rob Dombrowski (2 tackles), linebacker Joe D'Olimpio (1 tackle), cornerback Curtis Collopy (1 tackle), safety Charlie Rice (1 tackle) and Paul Bianco who made a nice tackle on the opening kick-off along with D'Olimpio and Collopy.
Play-by-Play
     Barnstable kicked off and found itself in good position to clamp down hard on Marshfield from the get go.
      Defensive tackle Everett Walsh and defensive end Bob Melley converged on the Marshfield ball carrier on first and 10 to stuff the play, followed by a nice solo takedown by Melley. Noseguard Cam Crocker wrapped it up on fourth down with a nice stop up the gut and Barnstable took over at the 50-yard line.
      Theo France got the opening nod and made good for two yards to bring up second and eight, followed by a nice, 7-yard run by fullback Kevin Ostrom to make it 3rd and 1. France broke free for another seven yards and the first down. Ostrom followed suit with another fine run of 7 yards to bring up second and three. Charlie Rice bulled his way two yards to make it 3rd and 1. Quarterback Damon Blake took his turn and gained six yards for another Silver Bullet first down, and things appeared to be rolling well for the boys in red and white.
      On first and 10 at the Marshfield 23-yard line with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter, P.J. Crosby came hopped into the QB slot but took a hard hit behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of five. On 2nd and 15, Blake took the ball up the middle and picked up eight yards to make it 3rd and 7, then hopped back into the QB slot. Following an incomplete pass, Barnstable caught a break with a facemask penalty for an automatic first down on the final play of the first quarter.
      On the first play of the second quarter, Rice got the nod and picked up seven yards to bring up 2nd and 3. Ostrom took a tough hit on the ensuing carry but gained one yard anyway to bring up 3rd and 2. Rice got the first down on a five-yard jaunt to bring up 1st and 10 on the Marshfield 8-yard line. Rice then busted free for what looked like a touchdown but to no avail. The Bullets had the ball on the 1-inch line on third and goal. Blake snuck in a QB sneak to make it 6-0, but his pass to Nick Cincotta on the two-point PAT conversion attempt failed.
      Following Barnstable's kickoff, Rice and Joe D'Olimpio converged on the Marshfield ball carrier, but not before he gained seven to bring up 2nd and 3. Melley and Crocker then converged on the ball carrier but not before he gained the first down.
      On first and 10, Tillman caught fire and hammered the Marshfield ball carrier to bring up 2nd and 8 with 2:43 left in the half. He quickly followed with another great hit to bring up 3rd and 7. Blake took his turn drilling the opposition, but a gain of four yards on the play brought up 4th and three to go. Defensive end Zach Stevens then laid a beauty on the Marshfield ball carrier to return possession of the ball to Barnstable.
      With 2:08 left in the first half, Blake tried a pass to Walsh, but the pass was broken up to bring up 2nd and 10 at midfield. Rice got the nod but was dropped for a loss of 2 to bring up third and 12. Rice then took another hit and fumbled and Marshfield took over at midfield with 1:44 left in the half.
Cornerback Rob Dombrowski turned in a nice hit on 1st and 10 to bring up 2nd and 8, with Crocker and Collopy combining on the next tackle to bring up 3rd and 8. A completion to Marshfield's Sean Quinlan gained two yards to bring up 4th and 6 with 0:33 remaining. As time ticked away, Marshfield attempted a deep pass, but it fell incomplete and the half ended.
      Rice returned the second half kickoff 20 yards to give Barnstable respectable field position to attempt another scoring drive.
      France picked up one yard on the first play to bring up 2nd and 9, followed by a tough, Ostrom loss of 1. Blake gained three yards on 3rd and 10, but Barnstable was forced to punt. Or was it?
Barnstable opted to fake the punt and seeing Melley open in the left flat, Blake fired away, but the ball tipped off Melley's hands and Barnstable had to give up the ball with 4:59 remaining in the third quarter.
      On 1st and 10 from the 46-yard line, Stevens made a nice hit but Marshfield gained five yards to bring up 2nd and 5. Tillman and Crocker converged to make a nice stop in the backfield for a loss of one to bring up 3rd and 6. Melley then offered some payback and dropped the ball carrier for yet another loss to bring up 4th and 7. A sweep to the wide side of the field, however, saw Marshfield gain a critical first down, with Dombrowski making a touchdown-saving tackle on the Barnstable 26-yard line.
      A penalty on Barnstable drove the ball to the 21-yard line and Marshfield capitalized, punching it in to make it 6-6. An incomplete pass on the Marshfield PAT left the score at precisely that.
      Rice returned the Marshfield kickoff 30 yards this time, but his effort went for naught as the referee assessed Barnstable with a clipping penalty.
      Blake carried the ball first, but with the boys slightly deflated, he took a loss of two yards. On 2nd and 12 with 2:18 left in the third quarter, Barnstable was called for a delay of game penalty to bring up 2nd and 17. Blake pushed hard to pick up nine yards on the ensuing play, but Barnstable stared at a third and 11 scenario.
      A short completion to France made it 4th and 9 at the end of the third quarter. Barnstable would relinquish the ball.
      Tillman continued his defensive exploits, followed by a nice tackle by Balke and then Crocker to bring up 4th and 11. Tillman came once more, this time stopping Marshfield cold in their tracks. With 5:03 remaining in the game, Barnstable appeared to be in the driver's seat on its own 26-yard line.
      Rice gained four yards on the first carry, then followed with a nice run to garner the first down. He carried once more for a gain of 10, followed by an Ostrom carry for a loss of 1. Rice picked up 8 more yards on the ensuing carry and on 3rd and 3 with 2:19 left, France brought home the first down with a gain of six yards.
      With 2:00 remaining, Barnstable kept on pushing and pushed until they had a tough fourth and 6 situation on the Marshfield 32-yard line. The referees erred and advised Barnstable had lost the ball on downs, but with coaches and players arguing that Barnstable indeed had one more play to go, the referees finally realized their mistake and gave Barnstable once last chance to bring home the victorty. Amid all the confusion and delay, however, Barnstable lost its steam and an attempted pass by Blake resulted in a sack for a loss of five yards.
      Realizing this was his team's last chance to bring home the bacon, Crocker bolted through the line past the Marshfield center, causing a fumble and recovering it to give his boys one last hurrah.
With 0:36 left on the clock, Blake went to the air once more but could not find anyone open. The game ended in a tie, 6-6.