CHELMSFORD — In the long run, 4 turnovers proved an excessive amount of for the Billerica Excessive soccer staff to beat.
In a driving rain, Chelmsford pulled off an upset with a 28-21 win over the visiting Indians within the annual Thanksgiving Day sport.
The Lions led 14-7 at halftime and after BMHS tied the rating, Chelmsford (5-6) scored the following two touchdowns for a 28-14 lead.
“It was a great team victory,” mentioned Chelmsford senior lineman Thomas Brown.
With the rating even at 14, Billerica (6-5) in place to take the lead late within the third quarter.
After a nasty snap compelled a Lion punt from the CHS 43, the Indians stopped the kick, gang tackling Lion punter Patrick McConnell earlier than he may even try the kick. With a primary down on the Chelmsford 23, the Indians moved six yards in two performs earlier than fumbling on third down.
Senior Jake Brooks recovered and Chelmsford adopted with a 91-yard drive to take the lead.
A 46-yard run by sophomore Dillon Dulong began the drive and a 20-yard move to Brooks moved Chelmsford to the 23. A keeper by senior quarterback Ryan Hart on third-and-10 moved the ball to the 9 and Hart scored on the following play. McConnell’s kick made it 21-14 with 9:10 to play.
The Indians went for a fourth-down play on their subsequent drive from the Billerica 36. Chelmsford stopped Billerica’s Griffin Bordeau after a one-yard achieve, giving the ball again to the Lions.
On the following play from scrimmage, Dulong busted free for a 37-yard landing run for a two-score lead with 6:42 left.
“I’m so proud of our kids,” CHS coach George Peterson mentioned. “It’s an unbelievable finish to our season. We thought we were a good enough team to make the playoffs, but we did some things to hurt ourselves and we weren’t able to get there, but the way we finished is a testament to the type of kid we have.”
The Indians answered with a 64-yard drive that took eight performs and ended with a 21-yard landing move from senior quarterback Steven Gentile to senior receiver Matt Grey.
Sophomore Dan Venezia’s additional level made it 28-21 with 3:44 to go.
Chelmsford picked up one first down, however the BMHS protection compelled a punt with 1:56 to go along with Billerica out of timeouts. On the punt, Billerica’s rush to dam the kick simply missed and a leaping Billerica participant hit McConnell on his manner down, drawing a flag and a primary down that ended the sport.
Within the first quarter, after a brief punt, it took only one play for the Lions to take the lead, a 33-yard run by Brooks with 1:13 left within the first quarter. It was a trick play by CHS that noticed Brady Burnham run as much as the ball and flip it to a gaggle of teammates in entrance of the Chelmsford sideline. Brooks took the ball down the left sideline untouched into the tip zone.
“It was trick play that we saw from a state championship game in Oklahoma,” mentioned Peterson, seemingly sparking Google searches aplenty. “We had practiced it every single day. The first series we went out on we noticed that nobody (from Billerica) came over where (the coaches) were. We knew it was something we could use later in the game and we just waited. That’s the kind of stuff I like.”
Billerica’s Grey practically tied the rating on the following kickoff, returning it 67 yards to the Lion 22. The Indians couldn’t convert, nonetheless, and turned the ball over on downs on the 14.
On the following BMHS drive, a 13-yard run by Judd Dorival moved the ball to the Lion 40 earlier than one other misplaced fumble by the Indians, recovered by Brown.
“You can’t fumble four times,” mentioned Indians coach Duane Sigsbury.
The Lions turned the miscue into seven extra factors as Brooks caught a 9-yard landing move from Hart with 5 minutes left within the first half. A 34-yard run by Dulong was the important thing play.
Billerica scored simply earlier than halftime, driving 61 yards in eight performs and discovering the tip zone on a 1-yard run by Gentile.
The Indians scored once more with 3:24 left within the third quarter when Bordeau scored on a 36-yard run. However Chelmsford would have the ultimate say.
