Vikings dominate in Thanksgiving Day triumph

By Transcript Staf

Neither rain, nor wind, nor cold, nor slippery turf — nor their Revere opponents — could deter coach Jon Cadigan and his band of determined Vikings from capturing the Beachcomber Trophy for a third straight year with a 25-0 shutout of their archrival Patriots on Thanksgiving morning at Miller Field.

Mother Nature appeared to be in a semi-cooperative mood as the teams went through their pre-game drills, but a sputtering rain that began to fall just as the foes lined up for the opening kick-off eventually became a steady downpour by halftime.

The Viking defense provided an early preview of coming attractions, forcing a three-and-out on Revere’s opening possession that netted the Patriots minus four yards. The ensuing Revere punt from the Patriot 18 into the strong wind that was blowing directly into the punter traveled only 17 yards, setting up the Vikings at the Revere 35.

Winthrop quickly moved to the Revere 15, with a 15 yard pick-up by senior captain Will Murphy (whose slashing runs accounted for big gains all day — Will finished as the team’s second leading rusher this season with 598 yards on 88 carries) on third-and-five accounting for most of the damage. But after junior Sean Dolen (who finished as Winthrop’s third leading rusher this season with 400 yards on 47 carries) gained three yards on first down, a 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Vikings set Winthrop back to the 27. Winthrop never recovered from the second-and-22 situation, and eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Revere 35.

The Winthrop defense once again proved unyielding. The Vikings stuffed the Revere ball carriers both up the middle and on the edges, and took over on downs at the Revere 43 after stopping the Pats on a fourth-and-two play on which Revere obviously felt its chances for a first down were better than attempting another punt into the wind.

This time the Vikings did not waste their opportunity, marching the 43 yards to paydirt in just six plays. Murphy went around the left end for 15 yards to the Revere 28 and, after a procedure penalty, junior Seth Sacco, who was a hard-driving force all day (Seth was the Vikes’ top ground-gainer this season with 841 yards on 124 carries), fought for six yards on two carries, setting up a third-and-nine at the Revere 27.

The Vikings then took advantage of the wind at their backs, with senior quarterback and captain Matthew Noonan delivering a perfect strike in a tight window on a slant to sophomore Michael D’Ambrosio for 18 yards to the Revere nine.

Sacco fought for six tough yards to the Revere three on first down, from where Noonan snuck into the endzone behind his line with 0:59 left in the opening period for a 6-0 lead (the PAT kick failed).

The Revere offense finally showed some signs of life with the change of field as the teams moved into the second period. The Patriots, starting at their own 28, racked up two first downs and got as far as the Winthrop 45 before the Winthrop defense forced a punt.

This time the Patriot punter got off a nice boot, sending the ball into the endzone and leaving the Vikings to start at their own 20. The next sequence of plays would prove to be the turning point in the game.

Winthrop moved the ball to its own 40 — another 15 yard rip by Murphy was the big gainer — but a fumble turned the ball over to Revere at the Winthrop 44. After a run for three yards on first down, a pass in the flat from Revere quarterback Danny Hou to Yousef Benhamou turned into a 29 yard gain down the left sideline, setting up Revere with a first down at the Winthrop 12.

A seven yard run up the middle by Geo Woodard moved the ball to the five for a second-and-three. Hou then attempted a sweep on a keeper around right end, but Sacco shed his blocker at the edge. Seth not only swallowed-up Hou, but the big hit forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore teammate Riley Moccio at the 13.

Sacco’s defensive effort snuffed out what would prove to be Revere’s one and only foray into Viking territory for the remainder of the game. A long Winthrop drive that concluded the first half at the Revere 24 foreshadowed a pair of lengthy, ball-control, and time-consuming Winthrop marches (63 and 50 yards) in the second half that resulted in Winthrop touchdowns by Sacco (from six yards out) and Noonan (from the one). A pair of two-point attempts failed after both scores.

The Vikings applied the coup de grace in the waning minutes of the contest after a net 10-yard Revere punt from the Patriot 20 into the wind set up Winthrop at the Revere 30, with Murphy deservedly getting the final call and hitting paydirt from one yard out. Sophomore Domenic Spinale kicked the PAT for the final point of the game.

The victory capped a successful season for Cadigan and his crew, who finished the year with a 7-4 record in which they qualified for the post-season state playoffs. The win also increased Winthrop’s lead in the series with Revere, which began in 1913, to 60-32-3. (There were two periods of cessation in the series in the 1920s-30s and the 1940s-50s.)