Falls to Waltham,15-14; first regular season loss in 2 years
Published in the September 23, 2016 edition
THE MELROSE Red Raider football team fell 15-14 to Waltham last Friday, their first loss of the season. Cameron DiBiccari (pictured) scored one of Melrose’s touchdowns. (Donna Larsson photo)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE — It won’t be another undefeated season for the Melrose Red Raider football team.
Melrose played to a down-to-the-wire thriller last Friday night at Fred Green Field during their home opener against Waltham, but it ended with the Red Raider’s first regular season loss since 2014 against a surprisingly tough Hawks team, who won on a 92 yard kickoff return with seconds left in the game to top Melrose, 15-14.
Waltham’s Antonio DiGenova had been a thorn in Melrose’s side all evening, and his 92-yard kickoff return stole victory from Melrose (1-1) and stunned Red Raider fans celebrating a Melrose touchdown that had lifted Melrose to a 7 point lead with a minute left in the game. At a score of 14-13, the Hawks went for the win on a two-point conversion and found the end zone, effectively ending the game at 15-14. For Red Raider fans spoiled by seasons of domination, the loss stung.
“You can’t give up big plays in a tight game,” said Melrose head coach Tim Morris after the game. “And we couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
Hawks quarterback Jonathan Coates (9-for-18, 120-yards) was tough on both sides of the ball while Melrose QB Jack Mays (9-18, 100 yards, 2 INT) threw for two touchdowns, including an opening drive 43-yard TD pass to Cameron DiBiccari to give Melrose a 6-0 lead.
Red Raider defense had been nearly flawless over the night thanks in part to efforts from Antonio DiFronzo, Patrick Whelan and Adam Caffey, along with the powerful unit of Pedrini, Steven Abbott and Colin Casey.Their collective efforts helped Melrose maintain a razor-thin 6-0 lead into the fourth quarter, when Melrose allowed two Hawk touchdowns. Waltham first scored with five minutes to go when Hawk QB John Coates ran for a 6 yard TD to give Waltham a 7-6 lead.
Melrose responded minutes later when Mays found senior Mike Pedrini on a 17-yard TD pass to give them a 12-7 lead with less than two minutes to go in the game. A two-point conversion run by Pedrini gave Melrose a relatively safe lead of 14-7 with a minute to go and hopes to kick deep and kill the clock. That is until DiGenova found a pocket on the right side of the field and took off untouched to steal the victory.
One point of concern for Melrose remains their extra ponit attempts, which continue to be a work in progress. Melrose missed their only attempt in the first quarter, keeping their lead to 6-0 until the fourth.
Despite their impressive first half defense, Morris acknowledged giving up the big plays hurt. “We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of young-type of inexperienced mistakes that we can’t have, being in a tight one like that.”
Eyes on Burlington
Melrose (1-1) will open their league schedule this Friday night on the road in Burlington.
The Red Devils are 1-1 after getting blanked by Billerica on opening night, 35-0. However, Billerica remains a very highly ranked team and Burlington rebounded last Friday with a 28-20 win over Woburn.
The Red Devils return with seasoned QB Dylan Bonfilio and running back Kyle Forrester. They also bring to the field a very tough running back Zach Cyr, who last week earned 290 all-purpose yards including an 83-yard punt return TD.
While Melrose may have had Burlington’s number in recent seasons, Red Raider defense will get no night off. Kick off is at 7 p.m. at Varsity Field at Burlington High.
