Stoneham Falls One Win Short Of Gillette

It certainly wasn't the start Stoneham was hoping for.

Sixteen seconds into the Division 6 state semifinal and the Spartans were already down 7-0 thanks to a 71-yard scoring run by Jeremy Soule on the first play from scrimmage. And when the Spartans had to punt after three plays, there was Soule again, running for a 12-yard score that made it 14-0 with 7:05 left in the first quarter. Stoneham spent the rest of the game chasing Soule (13 carries for 245 yards) and the 14-0 deficit. They never caught up, and Middleboro went on to win, 27-14, at Woburn High School Friday.

Middleboro will face Central Mass champion Littleton (10-0) in the Division 6 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium Dec. 1 or Dec. 2. The MIAA will announce the Super Bowl schedule after the completion of Saturday's remaining state semifinals.

Stoneham had been knocking on the door of Gillette Stadium for the past two years, losing in the Division 3A North title game last year, and in the Division 4 state semifinals two years ago. Once again, the Spartans were close but left on the outside.

"We knew going in they were a fast team, we knew they had a ton of speed and they did," said coach Bob Almeida. "They just exploded on the first play of the game and put us down. And then fumbling down deep, inside the 5, with an opportunity to get back in the game right there was hard."

What Almeida was referring to was a 14-play drive after Middleboro's second score that started on their own 41. It was vintage Stoneham football with Tre Pignone, Christos Argyropoulos, and Kevin McShane moving the chains down the field. But when Stoneham got to the 1-yard line disaster struck in the form of a fumble and Middleboro recovered.

From the 1, Middleboro quarterback Evan Gwozdz ran for 26 yards on the first play and Stoneham's advantage was gone. Soule added a 47-yard run two plays later and Middleboro was out of harm's way. The Sachems eventually turned it over on a fumble after a reception but it was still some 80 yards downfield from where Middleboro started. It might as well have been a touchdown.

Stoneham took over and went on a 12-play drive that ended with a fumble followed by back-to-back incomplete passes. The clock wound down on a half where Stoneham had a 14-play drive and a 12-play drive and neither produced points. Still, it was only 14-0 after 22 minutes and despite the rough start, the Spartans were in it.

The second half started on a better note when Stoneham turned an eight-play drive into points, this time scoring on a 7-yard pass from Jack McCabe to Pignone (his 22nd TD of the year) to cut the deficit to 14-8 with 7:03 left in the third.

It didn't take Middleboro long to respond. The Sachems took all of three plays to increase their lead to 21-8 after a 46-yard pass play from Gwozdz to Colin O'Brien.

Stoneham came back, this time with a seven-play drive the finished with Seth Russell running it in from five yards out. The two-point conversion failed but it was 21-14 with 2:44 to play in the third.

Again Middleboro responded to a Stoneham score with one of their own. The Sachems went on their own seven-play drive and scored to take a 27-14 lead after three quarters. The key play in the drive was a pass interference call on the Spartans along with a 22-yard run by Soule.

The Spartans took over to start the fourth quarter and went on a 14-play drive. Normally that's good, except when the clock is running and you're two scores down. The drive consumed the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter and when it ended with Stoneham turning the ball over on downs, it was the end for the Spartans 2017 playoff run.

"I'm real proud of them. They fought their butts off the whole time," said Almeida, who must now get his team ready for Reading on Thanksgiving. "[Middleboro's] a very good football team. I'm proud of my guys. I thought they fought. They had every reason to pack it in a bunch of times but they didn't. They're a disappointed group right now. My heart breaks for them because I know they really wanted this."

Photo by Bob Holmes