C-C Football Team Stuffs Bedford on Thanksgiving

BEDFORD – It was hard not to think of the holiday dinner waiting at home when junior running back George Craan punched in his second touchdown of the morning with about half a quarter remaining in the football team's Thanksgiving Day game against the Bedford Buccaneers.

Craan's 3-yard plunge put the Patriots up 27-0, and all but stuck a fork in the Buccaneers' visions of an upset.

Bedford delayed the dinner bell a bit with two scores of its own down the stretch, but the Patriots held on to capture the Thanksgiving Trophy yet again with a 27-13 victory.

"It's a big day for a big game and we came out ready to play," said Craan (12 rushes, 62 yards, two touchdowns), as fans, players and coaches hurried off to their holiday celebrations.

The victory was another complete-game effort for the Patriots (9-2, 5-0 Dual County League small), who captured the DCL title outright. They now shift their focus to the MIAA Eastern Mass. playoffs, and a semifinal date with North Andover High School on Tuesday night.

But first thing was first and C-C wanted to polish the regular season the right way.

"We've got big goals," coach Mike Robichaud said. "One mission accomplished, which was to win the league the right way."

Three different Patriots ran for at least 59 yards and scored a touchdown. Sophomore Tim Badgley led the bunch with 116 yards on five carries. He had 77 yards at halftime, gaining at least 21 yards on each of his three carries.

Junior Tyquan Culbreath added 59 yards on three carries, including a 42-yard end-around that set up Craan's second touchdown that essentially iced the victory.

That drive lasted just two plays and came when C-C took over after the teams traded quick three-and-outs to start the fourth quarter. At the Bedford 45, Patriots quarterback Peter George handed off to Culbreath coming around the left edge. He took the ball all the way down the left sideline before being pushed out at the 3-yard line.

Craan did the rest one play later.

"I'm really excited that we won; I'm speechless," C-C senior tri-captain Ryan Ruiz said. "We just wanted to take it one step at a time, one game at a time."

Bedford avoided the shutout against Concord-Carlisle's second defense when bruising senior fullback Demetrius Steed (18 carries, 73 yards) rumbled up the middle for a 16-yard score with 3:33 remaining.

The Buccaneers added another touchdown on the next drive. Senior Steve Adams ran around the left side, shook one would-be tackler, and scored from 15 yards out. Adams finished with a team-high 108 yards, all but six of which came in the second half.

"This was typical Bedford being ready to play," Robichaud said. "They were ready for us, they were gritty, they were tough and they made plays. They were all we could handle."

C-C jumped out to an early lead with touchdowns on its first two drives. Craan opened the scoring from 13 yards out and Culbreath extended the lead with a 13-yarder of his own.

A 13-0 halftime lead ballooned to 20-0 on the Patriots' first drive of the third quarter. Badgley capped a drive that started on C-C's 48 with his 39-yard run that started up the middle before the sophomore broke it up the left sideline.

"Our gameplan was to run everything … and we did that," Craan said. "We came out relentless, played relentless and won relentless."