QUARTERBACK TREVOR Botto found the end zone during Melrose’s 40-21 loss to Reading. (Raj Das www.edphotos.com)

 

Loss ends Melrose’s 21-game winning streak

By BEN PAINCHAUD

READING—Playing on the road, the Melrose High football team was bested by Reading, 40-21, in its season opener on Friday, September 10. The Red Raiders’ loss snapped the team’s 21 game winning streak dating back to 2018.

Despite the Melrose defense’s stoutness in stopping Reading’s run game and despite the rushing efforts of Trevor Botto, Shea Fogarty and Rowan Smith behind their offensive line, the Red Raiders had difficulty limiting their opponent’s aerial attack. At a listed 6’5” and 195 pounds, Reading’s quarterback James Murphy stood tall in the pocket, sending Melrose’s secondary scrambling with each throw.

“They run a lot of RPOs, so, you know, you have to play the run and the pass almost simultaneously with those,” said Melrose head coach Tim Morris. “We certainly knew that they had that kind of quarterback…We were mixing man and zone and blitzes. I mean, we did get to him sometimes, you know. He’s got a good release, quick release.”

 

READING PROVED to be a Top 10 team during Melrose’s much anticipated match up against the Rockets. (Raj Das www.edphotos.com)

 

It was not until the Red Raiders turned the ball over on downs at the 8:40 mark in the first quarter that Murphy’s prowess became apparent. Until then, Melrose had had an impressive opening drive, getting the ball from its own thirty yard line to Reading’s twenty thanks to strong runs from Rowan Smith and Shea Fogarty. The offense moved in quick succession, wasting little time in between snaps.

Faced with fourth and six, Melrose took a chance at going for another first down at Reading’s twenty yard line, and it almost paid off. Trevor Botto slightly overthrew a wide-open Liam Maher streaking up the seam on the far side of the field, and the Red Rockets took over on downs.

“The first drive, we took it right down there. I think if we had hit that seam, you know, who knows?” said Morris.

After taking over on downs, Reading marched down the field, and at the 4:53 mark, James Murphy connected with Alex DiNapoli in the red zone for a passing touchdown, putting the Red Rockets on the board first.

Melrose quickly responded on its next possession. On the fourth play of the drive, Trevor Botto, feeling the pocket around him collapse, scampered up the middle of the field and sped past Reading’s defense for a fifty yard touchdown. The score stayed knotted at seven apiece for the remainder of the first quarter.

In the ensuing quarter, Reading had landed at Melrose’s seven yard line after driving downfield from their own forty, when Melrose recovered a fumble on an RPO. However, Melrose was unable to build momentum following the fumble and was forced to punt.

James Murphy proceeded to pick apart the Melrose defense with completions to various receivers, including Ryan Strout and Aidan Bekkenhuis. At Melrose’s one-yard line, Colby Goodchild bulled his way into the end zone, helping hand Reading a 14-7 lead. On its next drive, Reading scored again on a short pass from Murphy to Goodchild with merely nine seconds to play in the half.

Throughout the night, Melrose seemed unable to capitalize on mishaps such as the fumble as well as several drops by Reading receivers, nor was it able to avoid mishaps of its own, including an intentional grounding penalty that doomed an opportunity for Melrose to answer Goodchild’s touchdown run.

“That was tough,” said Morris of the Rockets scoring right before the half.

Reading did not let up on the gas. Murphy kept going back to Strout and Bekkenhuis through the air, and eventually Goodchild punched it in from the two yard line to finish off the opening drive of the second half to help make the score 28-7.

The score stayed that way throughout the rest of the third. Murphy again connected with DiNapoli in the fourth quarter on a slant route in the end zone to up their lead to 34-7. Melrose went on to put up two more scores, one at the 9:40 mark that saw Liam Maher take a pass from Botto in the red zone and then shake a Reading defender to score, and the other a thirty four yard scamper from Botto at the 1:31 mark that saw him bounce outside and around the Reading defense for six.

However, these two fourth quarter scores were too little too late. In between the two scores, Reading chewed up significant clock running the ball and added another touchdown following a rush from running back Alvin Day, deflating Melrose’s comeback hopes.

When asked about first game jitters, Morris said, “We’re young. We’re very young, and I’m sure [first game jitters] had a lot to do with a lot of our skill guys, a lot of guys up front, who didn’t really get a chance to play last year behind a very heavy senior team…that’s not an excuse, that’s just the way it is. We just got to grow up fast.”

Up next on the schedule for Melrose is its home-opener against Lincoln-Sudbury. Kickoff is slated for 7 pm at Fred Green Memorial Field.