RallyNorth.net

Sat, Sep 08, 2007 07:00 PM @ Pope John XXIII

Team	Final
Manchester Essex	27
Pope John XXIII	26

Bishop's goal line tackle pushes Manchester Essex to win in opener

Monday, September, 10 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

CHELSEA | Victory seemed to be slipping away from the Manchester Essex football team.

The Hornets had all but lost a 27-14 halftime lead, by allowing Pope John to get within one point (27-26) with just over one minute to play in the game. All that stood in the way from victory or defeat for the Hornets was a 3-yard two-point conversion try.

Fortunately for Manchester Essex, Jack Bishop was on the field.

Bishop stuffed Pope John running back Brian Alesandro just short of the goal line to keep the Hornets up by a point. Manchester Essex would then recover an on-side kick to preserve a 27-26 victory Saturday night at Chelsea Memorial Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

"That was a big goal line stand," Hornets head coach Mike Athanas said. "Our defense played hard and did not break."

Manchester Essex (1-0) will next host Lynnfield on Saturday at Newell Stadium in Gloucester (7 p.m.). The Hornets will be playing their home games at both Newell Stadium and Endicott College this season due to ongoing construction on Manchester's Hyland Field.

The game was a shootout early on, and it appeared that the team with the ball last would win the game.

The Hornets opened up the scoring on the second play of the game when quarterback Pat Orlando hit Ben Kekeisen for a 61-yard touchdown. Pope John (0-1), however, answered back just five plays later on a 49-yard run from Alesandro. Nick Donovan would add a two-point conversion to give the Tigers an 8-7 lead.

Manchester Essex fired right back with another two-play drive that was capped off by Scott Forsythe's 50-yard touchdown catch from Orlando, giving the Hornets a 13-8 lead. But Pope John would once again score on the next drive when quarterback Brett Mayo juked his way to a 21-yard touchdown run giving the Tigers a 14-13 lead.

The Hornets gave themselves a little cushion in the second quarter, outscoring Pope John 14-0 on a pair of 4-yard touchdown runs by Bishop and Brian Ciccone (five rushes, 53 yards). The Hornets ended the half with 231 yards of total offense.

"We came out throwing the ball really well," Athanas said. "Our offense was really clicking in the first half."

The game took on a new look in the second half, going from a shootout to a physical battle for field position, and it was Pope John that seized the momentum.

The Tigers cut the Hornets lead to 27-20 when Mayo connected with tight end Rey Torres for a 10-yard touchdown. Pope John made adjustments on defense as well, holding the Hornets to -2 yards of offense in the second half.

Alesandro would add his second touchdown of the game with a minute to go, before getting stuffed by Bishop on the goal line for the potential game-winning two-point try.

"We made some good adjustments in the second half," Pope John head coach Chris Buckley said. "Our outside linebackers did a great job keeping Orlando contained in the pocket and it made a big difference."

On the other side of the field, Athanas knew his defense would have to win the game for the Hornets in the second half.

"Our offense was banged up so the defense had to pick them up," Athanas said. "Pope John is a tough, tough football team. They run the ball well so we had to man up and play tough football and we did just that."

Orlando led the Hornets offensive attack with 150 yards passing and two touchdowns, he also added 39 yards on the ground. Pope John's Alesandro was the games leading rusher carrying the ball 18 times for 142 yards.

There is a chance that the Hornets and Tigers could play again this year if both teams make it to the Division 4 Super Bowl. It is also a scenario that Buckley hopes to see play out.

"They are a very good team," Buckley said. "Hopefully we see each other again down the road this season."