NR comes up short on game-winning 2-point conversion
Published in the November 9, 2017 edition
SENIOR QB Kyle Bythrow (17) scores late in the third quarter to pull the Hornets to within seven points (20-13) against Melrose in the D4N semifinals. (John Friberg Photo)
By ANDREW MOUNTER
MELROSE — For the second straight week in a row for the North Reading High School football team, it came down to the last play of the game and unfortunately for the Hornets this past Friday night, they were on the wrong side as they were defeated by the hosting Melrose Red Raiders, 27-26.
The Hornets took the old adage in football: if you have a chance to win the game on the road, you go for the win in regulation and not in overtime.
North Reading got a beautiful touchdown from senior captain and quarterback Kyle Bythrow, who found Mike Mikula in the end zone from 10 yards out with just 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Instead of kicking the point after touchdown for the tie, Green and Gold head coach Jeff Wall elected to go for the two-point conversion. The two-pointer run failed and the Hornets were knocked out of the 2017 MIAA Division 4 North playoffs.
JUNIOR Mike Sheridan (18) and senior Kevin Brown (37) sandwich a Melrose ball carrier on this nice defensive play in last Friday’s game. (John Friberg Photo)
Would Coach Wall go for two in that situation if he got it do it all over again?
“Yes,” said Wall. “I thought we had the right play, we just didn’t execute it. Yes, I would do it again.”
Melrose on their first offensive drive made it 7-0 on a 14-yard touchdown by running back, Isaac Seide.
North Reading tied it up with 7:05 left in the second quarter with a 5-yard run up the gut by senior running back Jake Bedell. The Hornets started the touchdown drive at their own 9-yard line and was setup by two runs of 40-yards plus by Bedell and Bythrow.
Bythrow was a total surprise to play as his injury sustained in the third week of the season appeared to be season-ending, but he was cleared to play by his doctor and looked like he played the whole season, as he gained over 120 yards for the game.
Before halftime, the Red Raiders would regain the lead on a 37-yard strike from quarterback Charlie Stanton to wide receiver Mike Fennel with 3:30 left in the half. It was 14-7 at the half.
Melrose won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, and the move paid off three and a half minutes into the second half as they took the first offensive drive into the end zone for the second touchdown run from Seide, but the extra-point try was no good making it 20-7 Red Raiders.
The Green and Gold would answer right back with a touchdown of their own, when Bedell scored his second touchdown of the contest, this time from 15 yards out. Like Melrose with the prior touchdown, Alex D’Ambrosio missed a rare extra-point. The wind might have been a factor to those missed extra points; as the game progressed, the wind really picked up, possibly getting over 20 miles per hour. With the missed points, the Hornets were back within 7, 20-13.
The Melrose lead got back to two scores 1:23 into the fourth quarter as Seide would get the touchdown hat trick, scoring from 13 yards out. The extra point went through this time, giving the Red Raiders a 27-13 lead and looking like they were pulling away to an easy victory.
With the 14-point deficit, the Hornets could have easily given up and waited for the bus home to North Reading, but they didn’t. The Hornets got to within 7 points again of Melrose, with the third score of the game by Bedell from 7 yards out. D’Ambrosio’s point after went through the goal posts to make it 27-20, Red Raiders.
Like Bythrow, Bedell would run for over 100 yards creating a two-headed monster with the help of a great offense line of sophomore Sean McCullough, junior Dylan Cole, senior Colin Boucher, and senior captain Jackson D’Angelo.
On the pursuing kickoff, D’Ambrosio kicked his fifth successful onside kick recovery, thanks to a nice leaping grab against a Melrose special teamer, by Bedell with 2:35 left in the game. This would set up the drive that got the Green and Gold within one point, but the two-point try ended their chances of reaching the Division 4 North Finals against Marblehead, whom they lost to in last year’s finals.
“We didn’t make plays when we had to earlier on but the kids kept on fighting to the end,” said Coach Wall. “They showed a tremendous amount of character and heart but we just came up short.”
The Hornets had their 5-game winning streak snapped and are now 6-3 on the season. They have one more contest before the big Thanksgiving game against Lynnfield and that will be against another next door neighbor, Wilmington. The Wildcats are coming off a loss to Marblehead, 24-17. The game will be held at Wilmington High School tonight at 6:30 p.m.
