By: Austin Mendes
Cougar Defense Lines up against Wareham High School
ROCHESTER,MA-
The combined ground attack of Class of 2023 Carpentry students Chris Egan and Ryan Silva ran wild all over Wareham High School.
Egan opened up the scoring in the first quarter with a 22 yard rushing touchdown. "Keeping my eyes up while I hit the hole is one of the coaching points I've really worked on so far." said Egan when talking about his dominant rushing night. The Cougars defense swallowed up Wareham's rushing game to get the ball back. Quarterback Matt McGuiggan then connected with Egan again for a 33 yard touchdown pass, which would be McGuiggan's lone pass of the night. With another defensive stop, Silva would rush for a 22 yard touchdown. The Cougar defense held Wareham to 4 yards in the entirety of the first quarter. "I just go off the blocks from the Offensive Line and hit the hole hard", said Silva following the game.
The big night for the junior would continue as he rushed for a 16 yard touchdown. On the next offense possession for the Cougars, Silva would score on a 27 yard touchdown. Rushing for over 140 yards in the game, Silva would finish the night with a 20 yard rushing touchdown. This gave the Cougars a 46-0 halftime lead over Wareham.
Defense was big for the Cougars as seniors Rubini and Thibault led the charge on defense with huge stops on Wareham throughout the first half. Sophomore safety Shawn Markham would record his first interception of the season off a tipped ball from the line of scrimmage to halt a Viking drive.
The Cougar Defense held Wareham to 80 yards of total offense all night
The second half of the game featured big plays from the junior varisty team. Sophomores Matt Pitts, Stuart Burnham, and Juniors Andrew Cassetta, Lex Lizotte recorded their first varsity rushes. Stuart Burnham, younger cousin of 3 year varsity receiver Jarret Taylor (Class of 2020) had 2 noticeable rushes, tallying a total of 33 yards.
PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Ryan Silva
Silva carried the ball for a total of 148 yards and 4 TDs vs Wareham
The Carpentry junior had another big night against Wareham. All of his touchdowns were 16 yards or more. For a total of 4 touchdowns on the night, Silva brought his season total to 6 touchdowns on the season. The dominate ground performance tallied him at 259 yards on the season for a total of 29 rushes. Ryan is averaging a total of 8.9 yards per rushing attempt. During the Fall II season, Silva got injured in the opening game of the year against Tri County. When asked about it he said, "It doesn't cross my mind at all, that was the past, I just focus on the present and the outcome in the future."
UNDERRATED PERFORMANCE OF THE GAME:
Jake O'Neil
Jake O'Neil was a big scoring for the Cougars against Wareham as well. O'Neil would carry the ball for 38 yards on 7 rushes, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. The big part of the night for him would be his 4 - 2 point conversions, which would tally to 8 points of the Cougars 46 on the night. The rushing this game brought O'Neil to 58 yards on the year, on 13 rushes, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt. Old Colony will look to lean on O'Neil's shifty ability as they progress throughout the season.
Cougar Statistics:
Passing:
McGuiggan: 1-1; 33 Yards; 1 TD
Rushing:
Egan: 7 rushes; 148 yards; 1 TD
Silva: 9 rushes; 142 yards: 4 TDs
O'Neil: 7 rushes; 48 yards; 4 2PT Conversions
Tibault: 2 rushes; 12 yards
Burnham: 2 rushes; 33 yards
M. Pitts: 1 rush; 5 Yards
Lizotte: 1 rush; 3 yards
Cassetta: 1 rush; 3 yards
Receiving:
Egan: 1 reception; 33 yards; 1 TD
Defensive:
Markham: 1 INT
WHAT'S NEXT?:
The Cougars (3-0) play at home under the Friday Night Lights on October 1. This game will be against Mayflower opponent Upper Cape. The Cougars beat Upper Cape off a buzzer beater touchdown by Class of 2021 senior Ryan McGuiggan. The game will be Old Colony's homecoming game.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Special thanks to Stasia Finney for the photos from the game. I would also like to thank Old Colony Play-by-Play announcer, and close friend of mine, Norman L'Heureux Jr for the updates throughout the game. I will be attending the homecoming game so I hope to see you there! I apologize for the late post, I've been tied up with school work for college, along with getting the chance to work the Boston College - Missouri game this past Saturday.
Link for Photos:
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!
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