There is a famous post-game press conference where then-Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green tells the assembled media, “The Bears were what we thought they were.”
That about sums up the Stoneham High Spartans, whom the Winthrop High football Vikings met Saturday night in their non-league season opener.
Winthrop High head coach Jon Cadigan and his staff had scouted Stoneham and Cadigan predicted that the Spartans would go almost exclusively with their run-oriented attack from start to finish and that proved to be their game-long, game plan.
When Stoneham did attempt to pass late in the first quarter, senior captain Will Murphy made the defensive “play of the game” with a highly athletic, leaping interception.
The Spartans set the tone on their opening drive, going 77 yards in 11 plays all on the ground to score a touchdown, the first of four rushing touchdowns as Stoneham defeated Winthrop, 27-14, in a battle of two of the top teams in Division 6.
All-Scholastic running back Sean Kilty was the leader of Stoneham’s ground game, finishing with three touchdowns and 115 yards rushing. Kilty’s one-yard run, capping off a seven-minute drive, gave Stoneham a 14-0 lead with 24 seconds left in the second quarter.
Winthrop finally broke through with a spectacular 90-yard kickoff return by senior captain Nick Cappuccio at the start of the second half. Cappuccio would add a second touchdown on a run and a two-point conversion with 4:39 left in the game, closing the gap to 21-14. Kilty’s third TD sealed Stoneham’s victory.
Cadigan spoke about Stoneham’s ability to keep the ball in its hands for lengthy possessions.
“It’s the nature of their offense, they just grind you down,” said Cadigan. “We didn’t give up many big plays of over 20 yards. It was just Stoneham sustaining their drives. I think it came down to Stoneham’s ability to make plays on third and fourth down, and our inability to make plays on third and fourth down – that was the difference. They got the ball with seven minutes left in the second quarter and had the football for the rest of the quarter.”
Stoneham coach Bob Almeida with his post-game comments
On keeping Winthrop’s superstar back Nick Cappuccio (11 carries for 41 yards, two TDs) relatively in check and his kickoff return:
“I thought we did a good job throughout the game. We knew we had to contain Cappuccio. Our No. 1 job for our kicker was, besides kicking those extra points, was ‘don’t kick it to No. 20.’ “He got one on us last year and it was called back. He’s a great player who does so many things for them. You just have to play good, sound team defense and for the most part we did that. It’s a tough offense to prepare for – Winthrop is really good in the ‘jet.’
On Will Murphy’s interception:
“We should never have thrown that ball. We had momentum, we had stopped them on fourth down and had great field position. We could have gone in for another score right there. He [Murphy] made a nice play on the pass.”
On the top teams in the division:
“We started 0-4 last year and won the league [and advanced to the Final Four in the playoffs].”
“There are some really good teams in the division and we have a tough non-league schedule [Winthrop, Arlingon, Haverhill] and then we open league play with Melrose.”
Almeida feels defending state champion Fairhaven (a 44-7 victor over Durfee in the opener), St. Mary’s, Lynnfield, and Winthrop are some of the top contenders. “There are a lot of good teams in this division,” concluded Almeida.
Bob Almeida’s brother, James Scott Almeida, played basketball at Brandeis University at the time when Winthrop hoop legend Chris Tsiotos was a star at Suffolk University.
Impressive debut for Nick Romano
Winthrop’s Nick Romano made his first varsity start and earned the Black Shirt defensive player of the game award.
Playing linebacker, Romano had six solo tackles and two assists.
Also submitting a strong Opening Night performance was senior Will Murphy, who had an interception and caught two passes from quarterback Matt Noonan for 25 yards.
“I thought Will played great on both sides of the ball,” said Cadigan.
Noonan was 8-for-16 for 94 yards, often being pursued vigorously by Stoneham’s pass rush. Sean Dolen was the leading receiver with four catches for 51 yards. Murphy had the aforementioned two receptions while Nick Cappuccio and Todd Sacco each had single catches.
Northeast Regional up next Friday
The Vikings will host Northeast Regional (a come-from-behind 31-30 winner over Pentucket/Georgetown) in their home opener Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Miller Field.
A large crowd, including Winthrop’s very supportive student rooting section, is expected at the game.