By: Austin Mendes
Fog covered Oliveira Field Friday Night as the Cougars faced Pathfinder RVT (Photo by: Lauren Eldridge of Rochester, MA)
ROCHESTER,MA -
The field at times could've been mistaken for a recreation of the infamous "Fog Bowl" between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles in 1988. Heavy rain throughout the day in Massachusetts set the scene for the showdown between Pathfinder RVT and Old Colony for the opening round of the vocational playoffs. After the 2 hour drive by the Cougars the week prior when they played Ware, the opposing team would make the same trip... this time to Oliveira Field in Rochester.
Old Colony sprints onto the field prior to the game
Round one of the MVADA playoffs would open with Pathfinder receiving the ball. On the third play of the game, Pioneer QB Hunter Griswold would throw a ball that would be intercepted by Matt McGuiggan. Turning on the afterburners, McGuiggan would sprint to the endzone for a pick six to open the scoring. (2P by O'Neil was good). "The pick six gave us great momentum and helped us get the job done." said McGuiggan. Griswold would get back at the Cougars on the next drive, as he connected deep down the field with his receiver for a touchdown to knot things up at 8 apiece.
McGuiggan (12) finds the tipped pass and returns it for a pick six
The Cougars would respond with a dominant, commanding drive down the field that would end with a 15-yard touchdown run by junior Jake O'Neil, and a converted 2-point attempt by Shawn Markham. A failed drive by the Pioneers would put the ball back in the hands of the Cougars, as another dominant drive would end with a 1-yard touchdown run by Matt McGuiggan, and a 2-point conversion attempt which was a pass from McGuiggan to Taveira to put the Cougars up 24-8 at the end of the 1st quarter. Opening up the second quarter, Griswold and the Pioneers would convert another passing touchdown to pull within 10 points of Old Colony.
O'Neil runs through the huge hole created by the Offensive Line for a touchdown
The connection on the touchdown by Griswold would be the last points Old Colony's defense would allow for the rest of the game. Shawn Markham ran in a 3-yard touchdown which would include a converted 2-point conversion by Ryan Silva to put Old Colony up 32-14. With the Pioneers back on offense, Griswold would give the ball right back to the Cougars as McGuiggan recorded his second defensive interception of the game. A 35-yard touchdown connection between McGuiggan and Markham, along with another 2-point conversion by Ryan Silva would give Old Colony a 40-14 lead at the halftime intermission.
The Old Colony sideline watch the offense go to work
With a 40-14 lead at the break, Old Colony wasn't finished yet. Ryan Silva joined in on the touchdown action as he punched in a 6-yard touchdown run. Pathfinder would struggle on special teams as fumbles on their kickoff return team would pin their offense back deep in their own territory against the suffocating Old Colony defense. Halfway through the 3rd, the Cougars would rest their starters and put in the junior varsity and freshmen players on their postseason roster. Another dominant offensive series, this time by the junior varsity team would end with a 5-yard touchdown run by freshman Max Finney, younger brother of class of 2021 graduate, Josh Finney. This would be the first career varsity touchdown for Finney, one to remember. A converted point after kick by Ryan Silva would be good as the Cougars went up 53-14.
Freshman Quarterback Nate Marden stiff arms a Pioneer defender on a big run.
The Cougars would close out the game against Pathfinder holding them to 14 total points all game. The 53-14 win would mark the first time the Cougars amassed 50 points in a game since 2015, and would advance them to the semi-finals of the vocational playoffs.
Old Colony's JV offense prepare to line up against Pathfinder
NOTABLE ABOUT THE JV TEAM: Old Colony's junior varsity team finished their JV season with a perfect 6-0 record.
Announcing this week's player of the game, from Fort Gordon in Georgia, US Army Private, Old Colony graduate apart of the class of 2021, and former Cougar football captain,
Ryan McGuiggan...
McGuiggan wraps up the Pioneer running back for a tackle for loss
Matt McGuiggan had one of his best performances of his young career after recording 3 total touchdowns, one on the ground, one through the air, and one pick six. With his 2 defensive interceptions on the day, he assisted in helping the Cougar defense hold Pathfinder to 14 total points all night. McGuiggan gave a shoutout to QB Coach and offensive coordinator Bryan Sylvia following the game for the amount of guidance he gave him following two rough passing weeks. He also wanted to give a shoutout to his parents for the support they've given him all year. McGuiggan finished the day going 2-2 for 38 yards and a touchdown and a perfect passer rating in the air, 2 rushes for 4 yards and a touchdown on the ground, along with 2 interceptions, one resulting in a touchdown.
Cougar Statistics:
Passing:
McGuiggan:
2-2; 38 yards; 1 TD; 158.3 QB Rating; 100% Completion Percentage
Rushing:
O'Neil: 8 carries; 81 yards; 1 TD; 1 2-PT Conversion; 10.1 Yards/Carry
Silva: 11 carries; 67 yards; 1 TD; 2 2-PT conversions; 6.1 Yards/Carry
Finney: 5 carries; 53 yards; 1 TD; 10.6 Yards/Carry
Willwerth: 6 carries; 36 yards; 6 Yards/Carry
Markham: 5 carries; 31 yards; 1 TD; 1 2PT Conversion; 6.2 yards/carry
Marden: 6 carries; 25 yards; 4.17 Yards/Carry
Burnham: 2 carries; 12 Yards; 6 Yards/Carry
Cassetta: 5 carries; 12 Yards; 2.4 Yards/Carry
Thibault: 1 carry; 11 Yards; 11 yards/carry
Receiving:
Markham: 1 reception; 35 yards; 1 TD; 35 yards/catch
Taveira: 1 reception; 3 yards; 3 yards/catch
Defensive:
McGuiggan:
2 INTs; 1 TD; 40 total yards on returns
Rubini:
1 sack
Special Teams:
Silva:
1-1 XP Attempts
WHAT'S NEXT?:
Old Colony will travel for the semi - finals of the MVADA vocational playoffs to Nashoba Valley Tech in Westford, MA on Friday, November 19th at 7 PM.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Special thanks to Lauren Eldridge for the cover picture of the article. As well as Mrs. Finney for additional photos for the players to have. I would also like to thank my friend, and US Army Private Ryan McGuiggan for the special announcement video for this week's player of the week.
Link for Photos by me: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-ApyatZhETterv4BYLbXIMLTTM-GFmXS?usp=sharing
Link For Photos From Mrs. Finney:
Thank you for taking your time to read this article!
If you have comments, questions, suggestions or anything please feel free to reach out to me! My contact information can be found in the "About" section of this website. I'd love to hear from you!
Comments