Team stuns Tewksbury, 14-7, to return to Foxboro for first time in 32 years
FOR THE first time in 32 years the Melrose Red Raider football team is going to the Superbowl. Melrose upset defending state champ Tewksbury 14-7 on Saturday at the Div. 3 North finals to punch their ticket to Gillette Stadium on Dec. 6 in Foxboro. Pictured is the 2014 Melrose champs celebrating their historic win. (Donna Larsson photo)
By JENNIFER GENTILE & BRIAN ANDERSON
MELROSE — The imposing, state champion football team loomed large on the Melrose 1 yard line in the opening drive of the Division 3 State Semifinals with a Super Bowl appearance on the line. At first and 10 with a touchdown just three feet away, the Melrose Red Raider defense shrugged off the threat and got down to business. A state champion team on the 1 yard line for four attempts at scoring? No worries.
Melrose (9-2) overcame that threat on Saturday at Cawley Stadium in Lowell and it set the tone for a shocking 14-7 Melrose victory that sends the Red Raiders to the Superbowl at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 6, its first appearance in 32 years. That opening drive certainly was a Sisyphean task for Melrose who went on to avenge last year’s loss. Tewksbury (8-3), the current D3 state champion who denied Melrose a Super Bowl in 2013, came into the game having outscored opponents 103-12 during playoffs and were the presumed favorites going into the game. But Melrose didn’t blink. Instead they did what they do best: A valiant goal line stand that denied entry in all four attempts sending a very clear message: Not this time.
No doubt those four downs will long be remembered by this 2014 Melrose team and legions of Raider fans who made their way to Cawley Stadium on a bitterly cold night under the lights. The series began on first down: Tewksbury quarterback Brett Morris handed the ball to All Scholastic running back James Sullivan who was stopped for no gain. Second down: Morris attempted a keeper but hit a wall against a pack of Raider defenders. Third down: the Redmen try again with Sullivan, who needed to just one yard but was hit by Melrose’s Brian McLaughlin. By fourth down Tewksbury did not opt for the field goal. Instead they handed off to James Hirtle who was no match for Melrose’s Ryan Feeney, who took him down outside the end zone for what may have been the most significant tackle of the season. Melrose took the ball over on downs, taking the air out of the Redmen’s game and from there victory seemed within reach for the Raiders.
“We are just happy and proud of the kids,” say Melrose head coach Tim Morris. “To play as hard as they did despite being the underdogs all season … it shows they were hungry for the win. That [goal line] stand really delivered a message I think, it led us to believe we could do it and Tewksbury to realize that this wouldn’t be so easy.”
Melrose’s Jack Hickey led on offense with 125 yards on 14 carries, while Will Caffey had the catch of his career with a brilliant fourth quarter leap he ran in for the winning touchdown. Key tackles by Zack Mercer, Ryan Feeney and Jesse Gauvain along with an interception by Melrose’s Christian Pizzotti helped advance the Raiders to the Superbowl for the first time since 1982, when Melrose ventured to the old Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro to face Natick football headed by Darren Flutie. (Melrose fell in a memorable 35-34 game).
“It feels unreal going to Gillette with all my best friends since grade school on our senior year,” said senior captain Jack Hickey, who overcame an injury this season to lead them to the finals. “It is just amazing. Our defense really stepped it up. Tewksbury has such an explosive running attack and we had to rise to the occasion and play our game which we did and were able to contain them.”
Despite Melrose stunning higher seeded and undefeated playoff opponents like Woburn and Concord during their road to Gillette, virtually nobody picked Melrose over Tewksbury. The Red Raiders now continue in a path of upward trajectory thanks to the muscle of their defense; playmakers like Gauvain, Feeney, Chris Devir, Cameron Hickey, Alex Slabacheski, Jack Hickey, Brian McLaughlin and Zack Mercer have proven to be among the best defensemen in the state.
“Our entire defense played well,” says Morris. “They’ve been doing this all year. They stay the course and play hard every snap.”
“The win feels unbelievable,” says senior Will Caffey, whose touchdown sealed the win. “Our team put in all the extra work in the offseason and during every week it feels great to see it pay off.”
Hordes of Melrose fans who made the trip, along with the MHS band, helped stir an energy that seemed to be on Melrose’s side. For those fans the entire game was a repeat of 2013 – same title game, same opponent and same host stadium but the result something few would imagine.
NOBODY WAS getting past Melrose’s line during the Red Raider’s 14-7 upset victory over defending state champion Tewksbury at the State Semifinals Saturday, which earned Melrose its first trip to Superbowl in 32 years. Not with Raiders Cam Hickey (88), Jack Hickey (34), Brian McLaughlin (19) Ryan Feeney (38) and Zack Mercer (24) on the job. (Donna Larsson photo)
Despite that game-changing opening drive, the two teams slugged away in a stalemate the entire first half. After the goal line stand, Melrose quarterback Jake Karelas (6-16 115 yards) launched a rainbow toss from the 1 yard line into the outstretched hands of Red Raider Colby Andrews, who dove for the catch at the 50 to take Melrose out of their end zone. Melrose and Tewksbury swapped possessions before the half while key tackles by Feeney, Hickey and Gauvain helped prevent Tewksbury from advancing past Melrose’s 25 during their second touchdown threat. Huge pressure by Melrose’s Brian Mercer helped Tewksbury come up empty on fourth and nine on the Melrose 24, handing the Raiders back the ball.
Keeping Tewksbury off the boards before halftime was vital for Melrose, who saw the Redmen march from their own 39 into Melrose territory in the closing minutes. Melrose prevented any breakout runs by Sullivan or Hirtle thanks to huge tackles by Zack Mercer and Cameron Hickey. With just four seconds on the clock, Tewksbury quarterback Mike Morris attempted a pass into the end zone from the Melrose 25 but it missed and the teams went into halftime scoreless. According to coach Morris, he expected Melrose to fight hard in the second. “At the half we told the team, ‘look, we’ve been here before, we can do this’ and tell them good things would happen in the second half.”
He was right. On Tewksbury’s first possession in the third quarter, Melrose contained Sullivan thanks to tackles by Brian McLaughlin and Zack Mercer. The Redmen once again tried their luck with a fourth and 11 on the 28 but must have forgotten who they were playing. Zack Mercer ruined that chance at 6:26 and Melrose received the ball on downs once again. Tewksbury finally found the end zone with 1:09 left in the third quarter when Sullivan scored on a four-yard scamper and a good kick gave the Redmen a 7-0 lead.
Melrose, however, had Jack Hickey. The 6-foot 207-pound star running back broke through tackles for a 45 touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and a good kick by Melrose’s Michael Cusolito evened it up 7-7. “Honestly, we had run the same play successfully a few times in a row so they were expecting it and crashed and I bounced it and just ran as fast as I could,” said Hickey.
On Tewksbury’s next possession Zack Mercer made a key tackle on fourth and 2, taking down Hirtle giving Melrose the ball on their own 39. The game-changer happened on first and 10 on the 49 with just over three minutes left in the contest. Melrose’s Will Caffey gave fans a highlight reel catch that punched Melrose’s ticket to the Super Bowl when he leapt above Tewksbury defender Troy Carey, fought off his tight coverage, tipped the ball and caught it before taking off for the end zone, leaving Carey on the ground in his dust. It was a never-say-die effort from Melrose that that now seems like a metaphor for their season.
“Our coach called the play my side and I ran my route,” said Caffey. “Our lineman gave Jake enough time to throw the ball deep. The defender was on me tight and Jake gave me a chance to go up and get it. I tried to get it at the highest point and I came up with the ball. The defender fell and I just ran as fast as I could to the end zone.”
“Will’s play was great,” said Morris. “He’s been steady for us all year on both sides of the ball.”
It was effectively the end for the Redmen, who attempted a late game drive but saw Morris’ long pass intercepted by Melrose’s Christian Pizzotti. With 1:09 left in the game, Tewksbury had 85 yards to make up after a killer punt by Melrose’s Colby Andrews landed the Redmen on the 15. “Without that great punt by Andrews it might have been a different game,” says his coach. “That was just huge for us.”
Jessie Gauvain smashed Morris for a sack and the clock did the rest. Jubilant players rushed the field for the most meaningful celebration for Raider football since Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
It’s worth noting that under the old playoff system, Melrose would not be here right now. Freedom League winner Watertown would have advanced in tournament play for a potential Super Bowl run and second place Melrose would be finishing their season on Thanksgiving. But for Tim Morris and his Raiders it didn’t matter how they got to Gillette, all that matters is that they did. The ultimate underdogs of 2014 became the last men standing in Div. 3 North and among the elite dozen vying for the Superbowl crown.
“It’s great to see them happy, there was a sense of relief when it was over as well,” said Morris. “We played hard and finished the job. I’m really proud of them.”
