Div. 5 Pee Wees Almost Pull It Off, But Fall Shy in Rematch with Marshfield

The Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Pee Wees came within inches of tying Marshfield late in the fourth quarter, but the difference was but inches when tailback Charlie Rice -- who arguably staged his toughest performance in his young career -- was stopped on the Marshfield goal line on a two-point conversion try.

    The final score: Marshfield 8, Barnstable 6.

    Rice put on a gutsy performance in the second half, carrying the ball 11 times for 80 yards, including three 12-yard runs and three first-down runs. In spite of taking hit after hit by a tough Marshfield defense, Rice picked himself up and continued to answer the call when given the ball.

    Leading the Barnstable defense was noseguard Cam Crocker and defensive tackle Zach Stevens who combined for 8 tackles on the day at four apiece. Defensive ends Bob Melley and Everett Walsh accounted for 2.5 tackles apiece, with Walsh delivering his best effort on two 4th and 1 situations, stopping Marshfield short of first downs on each.

    Linebackers Dominique Tillman, Theo France and Damon Blake collected two tackles apiece, while other solid defensive efforts were turned in by Nick Cincotta (1 tackle), Stephen Huska (1 tackle), Curtis Collopy, Rob Dombrowski and Alex Grove.

    Blake picked up 15 yards on 12 carries, including a beautiful 25-yard run (Barnstable's longest of the day), but the halfback/quarterback was stopped in the backfield so many times by a hard-charging Marshfield defense, that negative yardage subtracted from his overall rushing total.

    Theo France was the sole other bright light for the Barnstable offense, picking up 23 yards on six carries. First half quarterback P.J. Crosby connected on 1-2 passes, completing a six-yard throw to tight end Everett Walsh, but it fell three yards short of a first down on a key, 4th and 9 situation early in the game. Blake was 0-1 on the day passing, while France went 1-1 on a halfback option to Blake late in the game.

    The Play-by-Play

Barnstable kicked off, taking the wind at its back, with Theo France collecting the kickoff tackle to put Marshfield at its own 40-yard line to set the tone, defensively.

              A false start by Marshfield pushed the hosts back five yards to bring up 1st and 15. Defensive end Bob Melley made the first hit a hard one, but the ball carrier regained the five yards lost on the previous penalty. Regardless, defensive tackle Zach Stevens followed with another solid stick, leaving Marshfield in a somewhat untenable, 3rd and 10 scenario. Noseguard Cam Crocker got the defense charged up when he leveled the Marshfield ball carrier in the backfield for a loss of two to bring up 4th and 12, followed by Melley's second great hit of the first series to stuff Marshfield in their own territory.

              Armed with momentum and good field position, Barnstable faltered on 1st and 10 when halfback Damon Blake was hit in the backfield for a loss of two to bring up 2nd and 12.Theo France regained much ground when he stormed through for a gain of eight to bring up 3rd and 4, but another Blake loss of yards in the backfield made it 4th and 9 on an errant pitch. Crosby then tried to air it out to tight end Everett Walsh who caught Crosby 's aerial, but the gain was only six yards when Walsh was hit from behind by a pair of Marshfield defenders. Barnstable could not, seemingly, get out of its own way offensively.

              The defense, however, came to play and play it did when Melley and linebacker Dominique Tillman cracked down on the Marshfield running back for a loss of two yards. Cornerback Curtis Collopy and defensive tackle Alex Grove then converged on the ball carrier to make it 3rd and 9. Stevens and Tillman did the job again on a Marshfield gain of four as the hosts were forced to make a go of it on 4th and 5.

              Blake, blitzing out of the outside linebacker slot, laid down a vicious blow on the Marshfield back on the ensuing play, giving the Silver Bullets the ball at midfield once again. With 1:00 remaining in the first quarter, Barnstable went to work, hoping to convert some of its defensive prowess into an offensive gem.

              But nothing seemed to be clicking. Crosby took a hard hit on a quarterback keeper on the first play from the line of scrimmage, followed by a Blake carry for a loss of two and another Crosby option-turned-keeper that brought up an impossible 4th and 11 situation. Blake rolled left and tried to find Charlie Rice for the first down, but just a minute into the second quarter, Barnstable found itself trying to defend its goal once more.

              At 6:08 of the second quarter, cornerback Stephen Huska made a good tackle on 1st and 10, but then Marshfield 's elusive Brian May went to work. Slipping through the grasp of three different Barnstable defenders in the backfield, May wormed his way to the outside before getting room to turn on the jets and 55 yards later the hosts had the led, 6-0. Opting to pass for the two-point PAT, Marshfield connected and had all it would need to win with an 8-0 lead.

              With 5:10 left before intermission, Blake picked up five yards on 1st and 10 to bring up 2nd and 5. Charlie Rice garnered the first down on a gutsy, six-yard run on the ensuing play. On 1st and 10, France got the nod but was dropped for a loss of two to bring up 2nd and 12. Rice picked up seven yards to bring up 3rd and five, followed by a beautiful, 25-yard Blake run that put Barnstable on the Marshfield 12-yard line with time to punch it in.

              Blake got nowhere on the ensuing play, followed by a zero gain by Crosby . With just 0:05 left and on 3rd and 10, Blake fluttered one on the run to Rice who was in the end zone but the Marshfield contain deflected the pass. The hosts led at halftime, 6-0.

              Marshfield kicked a squibber to start the second half, but Rice could not pick it up in time and Alex Grove fell on it to place Barnstable on its own 35-yard line.

              Regardless of its relatively unenviable field position, the Silver Bullets went at it and went at it with a vengeance, as Rice gained a quick 12 yards on his first carry, picked up another four on the ensuing play and then gained another three on France 's run. On 3rd and 3 and storming straight ahead, a fumble in the backfield gave Marshfield the ball and   momentum.

      The Silver Bullets were running out of chances, and fast.

      On first and 10 at the 50-yard line, Marshfield was met by a hotly pursuing Stevens to bring up 2nd and 3. Defensive tackle Nick Cincotta and Crocker converged on the next play for a gain of two, to bring up 3 rd and 1. The duo then tag-teamed once more to drop the Marshfield ball carrier for a loss of two to bring up 4th and 3.

      Defensive end Everett Walsh then stepped into the hole and shut off the Marshfield runner. Once again, Barnstable regained possession of the football. Once again, the football gods offered the guests a chance. This time, Barnstable would not relent.

      With 3:08 remaining in the third quarter, Blake stepped into the quarterback slot and orchestrated a 14-play drive that would result in the Silver Bullets' lone score of the day. He did it with the aid of two tough customers named Rice and France.

      On 1st and 10, Rice charged through a gauntlet of Marshfield defenders to gain seven yards. On 2nd and 3, Blake took a tough, 5-yard loss to make 3 rd and 8. Rice said “no thanks” to the possibility of failure and rammed his way 12 yards for the first down. With 1:30 to go in the third frame on the Marshfield 37, Blake picked up a yard on a broken play. France picked up five key yards on the ensuing play to make it 3rd and 4. The third quarter ended and Barnstable switched sides. It had 8:00 to try and win the ballgame and win a trip to the OCYFL D5 Pee Wees Super Bowl.

      France got the nod and appeared to gain the first down on a tough run up the gut, but the referees measured and the Bullets were shy one foot of a first down. On 4th and inches, Blake snuck through off center Crocker's block and got the first down. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rice picked up another 12 on 1st and 10 to put Barnstable on the Marshfield 18-yard line, then two more to make it 2nd and 8 on the 16. Rice then barreled through without fear of reprisal once more, gaining 7 yards to bring up 3rd and 1 on the Marshfield 9-yard line. Blake snuck through again and Barnstable had its first down, poised to strike and hit paydirt.

     Rice took it again, this time gaining two yards and with just 2:27 left in the game, Blake snuck in to make it 8-6. The play was called for the two-point PAT rush to tie it up, but Rice could not break the plane and Marshfield gripped almost desperately to its 8-6 lead.

      Melley attempted an onside kick but Marshfield scooped it up. The hosts had great field position and time on its side to run down the clock.

      Tillman struck first blood, hammering the ball carrier in the backfield for a loss of two to bring up 2nd and 12. Stevens and Blake then combined to make Marshfield sting, bringing up 3 rd and 11. A gain of 8 yards on the ensuing play was not enough and Marshfield stared at giving up the ball at midfield with 1:33 left on 4th and 3.

      Having seen and felt enough, Walsh stepped in and hammered the Marshfield ball carrier with Crocker finishing him off in a vicious tackle that left Walsh injured on the bottom of a five-man pigpile. The effort paid off. Barnstable had the ball for one last chance at taking it home.

      With 1:25 left, Blake handed it off to France who went off-tackle for a gain of five, but on 2nd and 5, with no timeouts left, a full 0:48 seconds ticked off before Barnstable could send a play in and the offense could set up to go. A motion penalty on Barnstable was all that it could do to stop the clock. A mere 0:37 remained, but when the clock resumed Barnstable could only watch its hopes dwindle with every ticking second.