March 28, 2024

H.S. Football: Seekonk Will Use Playoff Loss as Learning Experience

Div. 7 South Semifinals: Abington 33, Seekonk 7

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ABINGTON - The Seekonk football team won the opening coin toss, deferred to the second half and lined up to kick off against Abington Friday night.

Seekonk kicker Stephen Prew executed a perfect onside kick and the Warriors recovered the loose ball at their own 40-yard line.

It all went downhill from there in the first half.

A litany of mistakes from bad snaps to dropped passes and turnovers plagued the Warriors while Abington scored on four of its five first-half possessions and returned a punt for a score, taking a 33-0 lead into halftime and holding on for a 33-7 victory in the MIAA Div. 7 South Semifinals.

“It was there. We were just one or two key mistakes away,” Seekonk coach Vernon Crawford said after the game. “There was one thing that stopped us from moving the ball down the field (in the first half) on a lot of our opportunities.”

The Warriors came out of the locker room a totally different team after halftime. They drove 54 yards on eight plays to open the half before losing possession on a fumble. Seekonk forced a Green Wave turnover in the red zone before ripping off a 14-play, 91-yard scoring drive that ended when quarterback JT Moran threw a 23-yard score to Jack Murphy down the left sideline.

“I think everyone calmed down a little bit and stopped thinking of the big picture, the playoffs and stuff, after halftime,” Crawford said. “They just buckled down in the second half and battled back. I’m proud of the kids for coming out like that. They fought hard all night, especially in the second half.”

The Warriors were eliminated from the Div. 7 South playoffs and dropped to 6-4 on the season. They will play next weekend against an opponent to be determined by the MIAA, then finish the season at home on Thanksgiving morning against rival Dighton-Rehoboth.

REPORTERTODAY.COM MVP: Junior quarterback JT Moran threw for 153 yards and added 52 yards on the ground on eight carries. He threw for Seekonk’s only touchdown, the 23-yard strike to Murphy in the fourth quarter.

ABINGTON COACH JIM KELLIHER: “We’re not that much better than they are,” he said while glancing up at the scoreboard after the game. “Things just worked out for us tonight. Seekonk will give you some problems. In high school football, the passing game can give a defense hell, and it did tonight, but I thought overall we handled it pretty well.”

LIVE AND LEARN: Crawford said the Warriors will be better because of Friday night’s game as they’ll use it as a learning experience going forward. “It’s definitely a learning experience,” he said. “A lot of the mistakes were just because of inexperience. We have a freshman playing corner, three freshman on the offensive line. The seniors have really helped them come along. We’re a young team. We’ll learn from it and use it to get better.”

ABINGTON ON THE BOARD EARLY: The Warriors went three-and-out after recovering the onside kick to open the game, and the Green Wave went 64 yards on 11 plays with quarterback Colby Augusta throwing a 26-yard score to Will Klein for an early 7-0 lead. The drive was aided by a successful fake punt that gained seven yards on a run up the middle on fourth-and-three. Gabe Spry ran for a 3-yard touchdown on the next possession, and the Green Wave extended the lead to 18-0 when Seamus Schmidt returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. Augusta threw two more touchdowns before halftime, a 19-yarder to Drew Donovan and an 11-yarder to Matt Maguire, who hauled in a one-handed catch a fade route on the right side.

TONS OF SUPPORT: The Seekonk Athletic Boosters sponsored a fan bus for the game, and the Warrior faithful packed the visiting bleachers on a freezing night more than an hour away from home. “The fans have supported us all year,” Crawford said. “It seems like the whole town has been behind us. We didn’t get it done tonight but I’m proud to have everyone out here.”

FOURTH DOWN WOES: The Warriors had Abington pinned down several times but couldn’t get the Green Wave off the field. Abington successfully converted five of seven fourth downs while Seekonk was stuffed on the only fourth down it didn’t punt, a fourth-and-1 in the second quarter.

QUICK SLANTS: Freshman defensive tackle Josh Troiano recovered a Green Wave fumble in the third quarter that led to Seekonk’s scoring drive. … Linebacker David Pedro and defensive tackle Jacob McKitchen had a hand in many tackles. Both were solid on defense, as was safety Nathan Clarke and Moran in his spot at outside linebacker. … Per MIAA rules, the last quarter of the game was played with a running clock with the clock counting down at all times except on a change of possession. … The last play of the game was strange to say the least. The Warriors took over with 1:12 left and lined up to run a play. Abington called timeout, and since the clock runs at all times except change of possession, the clock started when the timeout was called. It ran all the way down to 2 seconds before the officials blew the whistle to allow Seekonk to snap the ball, and at that point, most of the Abington payers were on the field getting ready for the handshake line. Moran ran for a 30-yard gain on the play but the referees, likely cold and looking at the scoreboard, did not throw a flag and the game was over. … How long as Kelliher been the head coach of the Green Wave? The Reporter is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, and Kelliher already had 16 years on the Abington sideline before the first issue was published. This is his 46th season with the Green Wave. … Murphy led the receiving corps with seven catches for 71 yards. … Abington (7-2) will play the winner of Saturday’s matchup between No. 5 Nantucket and No. 1 Cohasset in the Div. 7 South Finals next weekend.

ABINGTON 33, SEEKONK 7
Abington 6 27 0 0-33
Seekonk 0 0 0 7-7

Scoring
First Quarter
A: Will Klein 26 pass from Colby Augusta (pass failed), 4:57
Second Quarter
A: Gabe Spry 3 run (run failed), 10:34
A: Seamus Schmidy 74 punt return (pass failed), 8:37
A: Drew Donovan 19 pass from Colby Augusta (Gabe Spry run), 4:38
A: Matt Maguire 11 pass from Colby Augusta (Tommy Fanara kick), :11
Fourth Quarter
S: Jack Murphy 23 pass from JT Moran (Reagan Furtado kick)
Statistics
Rushing: A-Colby Augusta 3-0, Will Klein 10-53, Gabe Spry 8-27, Kosta Retzos 8-15, Cedric Lucas-Summers 3-7, Tom Furness 3-11; S-Jack Murphy 4-5, JT Moran 8-52, Robbie Lebeau 3-13.
Passing: A-Colby Augusta 8-14-145-3-1; S-JT Moran 18-26-153-1-1.
Receiving: A-Gabe Spry 1-10, Drew Donovan 1-19, Will Klein 1-26, Seamus Schmidt 2-41, Matt Maguire 2-32, Kosta Retzos 1-17; S-Nathan Clarke 5-34, William Smith 1-13, Jack Murphy 7-71, Robbie Lebeau 5-35.

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