28-13 win over Plymouth South is 2nd title in 3 years
THE 2019 Melrose Red Raider Div. 4 State Champions celebrate with the Agganis Trophy after clinching the Super Bowl, 28-13, over Plymouth South last Saturday at Gillette Stadium. (courtesy photo)
Published December 13, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider football team is once again Super Bowl champs after capturing the Div. 4 state title in a 28-13 victory over Plymouth South on Saturday, Dec. 7 at a frosty Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. This is Melrose’s second title in three years following their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2017 and overall their second Super Bowl victory title in five attempts. Melrose is the only remaining undefeated high school football team in Massachusetts while finishing a perfect 12-0.
A full busload of student fans made the trek to The House That Brady Built to watch the Red Raiders clinch their 28-13 victory and enjoy a police escort back home to Melrose High School on Saturday evening, where fans and family awaited.
“Hard work pays off,” said Melrose coach Tim Morris after the game. “We don’t have huge guys. We have good athletes, multi-sport athletes, who work hard. And for them to realize this goal, I’m just so happy for them.”
Melrose rushed for 220 yards as a team on 41 attempts, favoring a power I offense versus a spread offense, and the plan worked. “That was a tough defense we were playing,” acknowledged Morris. “We had to do some things that we don’t normally do to get going. We got back into the old tight I, and ran the ball downhill. We love doing that, but you can’t do it too often. That was the thing that really helped us today.”
HE MELROSE Red Raiders celebrate their Super Bowl victory with the Agganis Trophy after beating Plymouth, 28-13. Pictured from left: Andrew Norton Jefferson, capt. Sean Herbert and capt. Jared Karelas. (courtesy photo)
Senior captain Billy Pesce earned Player of the Game honors after breaking open in the second half with a 14-yard touchdown, a 62-yard punt return touchdown and a late-game interception that closed the door on the Panthers. It was a bittersweet moment for Pesce, who lost his father last January and it was certainly weighing on his mind, along with the minds of his teammates and coaches. “It’s just an incredible feeling—this means everything to me,” Pesce said. “You think about your family, and who’s watching you on every drive during every game. It’s what motivates me to play. And this is exactly where we wanted to be.”
“Pesce’s been the heart and soul of our football team all year long,” said Morris. “He’s a tremendous kid with great work ethic. He leads the guys and inspires everybody. He’s been through a lot this year, and it brought tears to my eyes watching him return that punt. He’s had a great career for us, but this was certainly the icing on the cake.”
Melrose played without their top scorer, senior captain Chris Cusolito, who remained on the sideline injured, after compiling a 25-touchdown,1,000 yard rushing season. But his brothers in arms didn’t let him down. “We played for Cusolito today,” affirmed Pesce. A lot of help came from junior Matt Hickey, who scored once and racked up 76 yards, including spearheading a 99-yard drive that gave the Red Raiders a 13-7 lead with a minute to go in the half. And Melrose quarterback Brendan Fennell showed great leadership on the field, rushing for 108 yards on 16 carries, including a touchdown.
Enough can’t be said of Melrose’s offensive line an the play of Mical and Micye Duntin, Frank Capaldo, Andrew Norton-Jefferson, and co-captain Jared Karelas, who had the big task of finding holes for Pesce, Hickey, Herbert and Fennell to run. They also had key tackles early in the game that prevented Plymouth from scoring on their second possession.
Plymouth South (10-3) was playing in their second-ever Super Bowl and came tougher than advertised. Melrose struck first in their opening possession after carries by Pesce and Hickey and a caught pass by Brendan Maher which culminated in a one-yard Fennell touchdown. But the Panthers responded with a 19-yard Nick Siegelman touchdown to even the score 7-7 in the first.
Things looked a little hairy when Plymouth punted to the Melrose 1-yard line but the Red Raiders drained the clock and carved out a workman-like drive on the legs of Matt Hickey, who finished it up with a 1-yard touchdown run, but a missed point-after gave Melrose a 13-7 lead into halftime. Plymouth South’s Siegelman (rushing for 91 yards) drove the ball on the next possession on a 37-yard run and a 1-yard touchdown to even it up, 13-13 in the third. By then, it was anyone’s game.
MELROSE WAS flying high after their Super Bowl victory over Plymouth last Saturday. Celebrating in air are Charlie Haggerty and Sean Herbert along with teammates Matt Dassault and Tyrell Liles. (Steve Karampalas photo)
The key drive came next for Melrose in the third that essentially turned the tide in their favor. Melrose received the ball on their own forty, muscled down the field on runs by Hickey and Pesce to the Plymouth 28. On fourth and 8, Fennell targeted a pass to Brendan Maher and Plymouth was called for pass interference, which awarded Melrose first down at the 14. From there, Fennell hit Pesce with a 14-yard touchdown pass that made it 19-13. Morris chose to go for a two-point conversion, successfully run by Jack Hickey, and that gave Melrose a one-score lead of 21-13.
Even more critically, Melrose then forced a three-and-out which resulted in the game-sealer: a Pesce 62-yard punt return touchdown that lifted Melrose to a final score of 28-13.
Melrose quarterback Brendan Fennell acknowledged the challenge of playing without Cusolito on Saturday. “Chris is an amazing player, he’s done it for us all year,” Fennell said. “So we made some adjustments. We have great senior captains on that field and one of the best offensive lines in the state, and they really showed it tonight.”
Sean Herbert was ferocious on both sides of the ball this year. As his team celebrated, the state champion wrestler understood the importance of the victory. “It means the world. It makes those hot days in summer and being in the cold all week worth it. No one deserves this more than this team. And it’s becoming a tradition. We want to represent the long red line as long as we can.”
Twins brothers Mical and Micye Duntin simply soaked it all in. The fierce linemen wreaked havoc on offenses all season and Saturday was no exception. Both plan to play together in college and it’s rumored that schools such as Tufts are interested in them. But they were beaming with pure Melrose Red Raider pride while lapping up the victory and reflecting on the end of their high school football careers.
Said Mical, “I knew how important this game was to the history of Melrose. To be here and win twice is amazing.This team will go down as one of the greats. And to be able to do this with my brother means so much. The two of us, coming from the city ever since first grade, we had big dreams.”
Micye agreed with his brother. “And it was all worth it. To have been part of Melrose schools, practicing all these years and to finish with this legacy. It’s unbelievable.”
He then laughed as he summed it up best. “There’s no one left to beat.”
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