NEEDHAM – Even in high school football, the game is completely one-sided towards the offensive side of the ball – unless you play Needham.
Needham didn’t make it easy on itself but outlasted Lincoln-Sudbury, 14-13, in a non-league slobber knocker of a game. In an old-school, smash mouth style battle, the Rockets (2-0) posted their second impressive home victory over a quality opponent.
Everything came down to the final seconds as Needham dominated on defense most of the game, but two touchdowns in the final six minutes gave the Warriors (1-1) the opportunity to tie or go for two with 17 seconds left in regulation.
“We executed the way we wanted to. We wanted it to come down to the last possession right there and that was kind of the way the game had been going back and forth,” said Lincoln-Sudbury head coach Jim Girard. “It was kind of a tale of two halves as they sort of dominated the first half, but I thought our defense played great in the second half.”
Girard went for the win with the game on the line, but quarterback Cooper Tarantino’s pass fell just short of the goal line as he was hit by senior Dave Curtis, after Curtis initially missed the sack, to preserve the one-point victory for the Rockets.
“You just have to just keep going, just keep dogging out, so yeah, I mean our defensive unit is amazing out there and they carried us. I’m glad to be a part of it,” said Curtis. “Man, just get gritty, don’t give up and have each other’s backs. That’s what coach has been preaching – it’s called ELO, love each other – so if you’re just playing for the guy next to you, you just gotta get down, get gritty, make that tackle, make that play, make that block, and do whatever you need to do to win.”
Needham quarterback Josh Morant tossed two touchdowns in the second quarter. The senior signal caller hit Ben Schreiber on play-action rollout to his right for an eight-score after fullback Jake Reiser broke free for a 41-yard run to set up the Rockets with a first-and-goal with 11:05 on the clock.
On the next series, Morant hit Tate Hoffmeister in stride on a screen on the third play from scrimmage and Hoffmeister did the rest with a 38-yard catch-and-carry after breaking multiple tackles down the sideline for the 14-0 Rockets lead with 6:50 left in the first half.
The Rockets’ defense only allowed two yards of total offense in the first half.
“We’ve got some amazing athletes and you know coach (Tony) DiCicco took it over from me this year and I think he’s done a good job,” said Needham head coach, Doug Kopsco with a laugh. “These guys are hungry, they love each other, they worked their butts off for four quarters. They really are one of the best defenses we’ve got around here in Needham.”
Lincoln-Sudbury finally found the end zone on a 14-play drive aided by two brutal penalties that ate up the final six seconds of the third quarter and exactly half of the fourth quarter. Tarantino plunged ahead on a quarterback dive on fourth-and-one and cut the deficit in half, 14-7, with six minutes remaining.
On the next Warriors possession, Girard decided to punt with 3:32 on the clock after a false start moved the Warriors into a fourth-and-eight from their own 39. Armed with three timeouts, the call looked genius as Jake Leverone picked up a loose ball in the backfield and the Warriors were set with first-and-10 from the Rockets 26.
Five plays later, Charlie Barringer hauled in a fade route from nine-yards out but the Warriors came up just short on the two-point conversion try.
