D1 Pee Wees Roll Over Scituate , Head to Super Bowl

HYANNIS – Isaiah Voegeli proved to be like a one-man wrecking crew Sunday afternoon at W. Leo Shields Field, leading the Barnstable Silver Bullets D1 Pee Wees to a convincing 34-6 playoff victory and a berth in this week’s Super Bowl. The Pee Wees now stand at 6-3 on the season.
      Voegeli collected two touchdowns on the day versus Scituate , With Brett Sullivan, Tommy Horn and Alexander Pernick each adding touchdown scores on the day.
Barnstable jumped to a quick, first quarter lead when Sullivan punched it in, followed by a successful two-point PAT by Alex Thome. Barnstable ’s confidence began to grow, however, in a convincing second quarter.
      With 4:47 remaining in the first half, Barnstable ’s defense came up huge to stop a 4th and 8 situation at midfield. Facing 1st and 10 at their own 37 yard line with 3:44 on the clock, Sullivan ran inside for a gain of 8 yards before quarterback Voegeli stepped in and put on a clinic. Shaking two defenders inside, then cutting it to the outside, Voegeli flew down the home team sideline for a 45-yard touchdown run to give the host a 14-0 lead.
      Scituate exhibited some fortitude by stopping the two-point PAT attempt, but Voegeli’s touchdown had given Barnstable the momentum and confidence it needed and that confidence transferred to both sides of the ball.
      With 2:45 remaining in the half, Thome made an exceptional open-field hit on the ensuing Barnstable kick-off, followed by a great hit by defensive end Blake Blaze. On 2nd and 10, the Scituate quarterback dropped back to pass and under heavy pressure by Pernick lofted a 20-yard strike that gave the visitors a first down. Armed with a sudden but almost false sense of confidence, Scituate dropped back to pass again with 1:53 remaining in the half, but Voegeli stepped up and pick the ball off to give Barnstable the ball at the 36-yard line with 1:34 left in the half.
      Sullivan carried the ball on 1st and 10 for a gain of three, then a Voegeli pass attempt was blocked to make it 3rd and 7. Sullivan got the nod again, but this time no yardage was gained, forcing Barnstable to punt. With 0:30 remaining in the half, Scituate had the ball again on its own 36 yard line.
      Benjamin Cohen made the first hit for Barnstable but Scituate gained six on their first carry, followed by superb tackles by Sullivan and Voegeli. With time ticking away, Scituate opted to go to the air once again, but for the second time in as many minutes Voegeli again intercepted the ball. Thome finished the half with a nice 15-yard run.
      Timothy Galvin set the tone for the hosts with a fantastic open-field tackle on the kickoff. The Barnstable defense was charged up and ready to stop anything Scituate had to offer.
      Mike Kullas and Cohen converged on the first Scituate offering, stopping the run cold at the line of scrimmage, followed by another great hit by defensive end Blaze. With 7:03 remaining in the third quarter, Scituate found itself quickly at 3rd and 7 to go. With the Scituate quarterback dropping back to pass, Cohen proved his mettle by charging in full speed and hammering the Scituate quarterback for an 8-yard loss. The play left Scituate in a 4th and 15 scenario with 6:32 remaining in the quarter. The visitors had little choice but to punt the ball.
      Enter Voegeli.
      Playing with an internal fire and drive to put this game away, Voegeli dropped back to receive the punt and he was off to the races, jetting 45 yards to paydirt and a firm, 20-0 Barnstable lead with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter. While a Vaguely keeper was denied on the ensuing two-point PAT attempt, Barnstable had succeeded in building a 20-0 lead.
      With 5:56 remaining in the quarter and situated on the 35, Scituate tried to build momentum once more, but the running back was met with a vengeance at the line of scrimmage by Tyler Evaul. On the ensuing play, Galvin and Kullas met the Scituate back with equal assertion. On 3rd and 10 with 4:49 remaining in the quarter, Scituate garnered slight momentum on a 20-yard, first down run, combined with a facemask penalty to give the visitors a 1st and 5 situation deep in Barnstable territory. This would evolve into Scituate ’s best and only true opportunity to score on the day.
      At 3rd and 7 and breathing hard down Barnstable ’s collective neck on the 7-yard line, Scituate swept outside and punched it in the end zone to make it 20-6. The boys in red stopped the two-point PAT and prepared to receive. Expecting an on-side kick attempt, Barnstable ’s Ricky Clement smothered the ball on the front line and Barnstable prepared to go to work once more.
      Thome carried the rock first for the hosts, gaining two hard-earned yards to put the ball on the 48. On 2nd and 8, Luke McGuinness got the nod and picked up three to put the ball on the 45-yard line. On 3rd and 5, Sullivan took his turn with the rock, but gained no ground. Facing a 4th and 5 situation, Barnstable was forced to punt. Voegeli lofted a beauty, putting the ball at the Scituate 15-yard line. With 0:38 remaining, Scituate tried to get it rolling, but on 1st and 10 was met head on by linebacker Nick Velutti. On the ensuing play, and sniffing weakness in the Scituate running game, Blaze busted through and stripped the Scituate quarterback of the ball. Horn picked up the fumble and gave Barnstable great field position on the 10-yard line. The third quarter expired and Barnstable switched sides to attempt to seal the deal.
      The hosts fumbled on a bootleg attempt, however, and gave Scituate another chance to make amends. With 7:54 on the clock, Scituate found itself with the ball on the 15-yard line, down 20-6.
      Angered by the team’s offensive miscue, the Barnstable defense staged its best stand of the day, inspired by a vicious sack by McGuinness to drop the Scituate quarterback for a 13-yard loss. On 2nd and 23 on the two-yard line, Andrew Zeglen stopped the Scituate ball carrier cold. Scituate then faced a 3rd and 23 scenario. While Scituate gained five yards up the middle and then picked up another five on a Barnstable offsides penalty to make it 3rd and 13, the hosts were not be denied. In a collective effort, the defense stuffed the ensuing play and forced Scituate into a 4th and 19 situation with the ball on the goal line. With 5:31 remaining and boasting a 20-6 lead, the Barnstable defense swarmed and picked up a crucial two-point safety. Scituate kicked off and Barnstable found itself at their own 40-yard line, ahead 22-6 with 5:13 remaining.
      Thome was giving the initial nod, driving 15 yards to the 25-yard line. On 1st and 10 on the 25, Thome got the nod again, this time picking up two yards to make it 2nd and 8. Horn then took his turn, firing through the hole for glory and a fantastic touchdown run to put Barnstable ahead 28-6 with 4:04 remaining in the ball game.
      The defense would not relent as McGuinness unleashed a tremendous tackle for a sack and a 10-yard Scituate loss to make it 2nd and 20. Vellutti followed suit and sacked the QB again, making it 3rd and 30 for the visitors on the 27 yard line. Chris Hadawar added a nice tackle to make it 4th and 30, but Scituate had no choice but to go for it. Thome dropped back on the ensuing pass attempt and picked it off for his first interception of the day.
      With 2:30 remaining, Barnstable had finalized their Super Bowl appearance but their work day was not yet done. Thome took the ball first, but gained no ground, making it 2nd and 10. Pernick then got the nod and he wasted no time gliding 27 yards down the sideline for a touchdown and Barnstable ’s final score of the day. With 1:59 remaining, the Silver Bullet’s lead had grown to 28 points with a firm, 34-6 advantage.
      On the final play of the game, Mason LaValle picked up his first sack of the day for a 10-yard Scituate loss.