Stoneham Stymied by Undefeated Raiders

In the face of adverse weather conditions, the football team held leads of 7-0 and 14-13 in the first half against undefeated Watertown High. But, the Spartans were unable to find an answer for Raider senior Giovanni Ortiz, who scored the final two touchdowns for Watertown in a 27-14 loss on Friday night at Pierce Field in Arlington.

“We expect to execute,” said Stoneham coach Dave Pignone. “We have scored on every team we have played. The kids are fighting as much as they can fight.  When an athlete like Ortiz takes over a game, though, it’s tough.”

Stoneham (2-4) scored first. The Spartans fielded the opening kickoff at the Raider 45, then earned a first down on consecutive carries by their two featured running backs, seniors Paul Delorfano and Matt Tecci. After recovering its own fumbled pitch on third down, Stoneham faced a fourth-and-nine situation at the Raider 31. Spartan junior quarterback Andrew Cann lofted a pass to the opposite side of the field to Delorfano. Then Delorfano eluded the Watertown cornerback in coverage and won the race to the front corner of the end zone ahead of the Raider pursuit for the touchdown.

“Paul Delorfano gives such good individual effort,” Pignone said. “We knew [the Raiders] were a very aggressive defense, and they play one-on-one coverage.  We knew if we had a throw back we could take advantage of it, so we did. We dragged [Delorfano] across the field, threw the pass and got it done.”

After senior Anthony Aidonidis tacked on the extra point, the Spartans held the early 7-0 lead, with seven-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter.

Then Watertown answered with a touchdown of its own.  Cacace put Ortiz in the Wildcat formation for a couple of snaps, and he advanced the ball from the Raider 32 past midfield. On first and 10 at the Spartan 41, Watertown junior Logan Riley took the handoff from Joey Farrar, followed his blockers and rushed ahead for 41 yards and the score. 

“That was a fullback trap executed to perfection,” Watertown coach John Cacace said. “Logan is big but he is fast when he gets moving. The line did a good job on that play."

The score was tied at 7 once senior Joe Cacia converted the extra point kick.

The next Stoneham drive got off to a promising start, thanks to a spirited run by Tecci from the Spartan 10 to midfield. A saving tackle by Watertown senior Raheel Yousuf denied the Spartans from earning any more points. After two incompletions by Cann, the Spartans punted to the Raider 10, where Watertown mounted a seven-play, 90-yard drive for its second score. 

Key plays were a pair of catches by Ortiz. The first was a long pass from Farrar that the Watertown senior caught at midfield. The second was a leaping grab on the goal line for six points as time expired in the first quarter.

“He has been incredible this year,” Cacace said of Ortiz, who caught five passes for 99 yards. “He started out as a safety as a sophomore. He worked so hard in the offseason to get ready for this year. He knew he would be a featured performer. [On Friday night] he had a punt return and two touchdown catches.”

A penalty on the extra point kick allowed the Raiders to try a two-point conversion. However, the Spartans stood tall at the goal line and denied Riley on the rush attempt. At that point, the score was 13-7 in favor of Watertown.

Stoneham would retake the lead on the opening drive of the second quarter.  With effective blocking by the Stoneham offensive line, Delorfano, Tecci and junior Erick Bidot all gained significant yardage. On a third down play, Cann tossed a jump ball to sophomore receiver Dylan Owens, who picked the ball out of the air at the Raider 10 yrd line before he was tackled at the Raider seven yard line. Delorfano nearly scored on the next play from scrimmage, taking the ball to the Raider one yard line. The next time he would receive a handoff, he carried the ball past the goal line for the score.

“Stoneham did an excellent job of running the football,” Cacace said.

“At times the blocking was good, especially in the first half,” Pignone said. “The technique was good. Everyone knew their assignment. [Watertown’s] inside linemen, especially 75 [senior Jonathan Arslanian] and 73 [senior tri-captain P.J. Phinney] were very aggressive. They were hard to block.”

Once the extra point try by Aidonidis sailed through the uprights, Stoneham had retaken the lead from Watertown 14-13 with 5:59 left to play in the second quarter. Momentum seemed to shift to the Spartans at that point, especially after the Stoneham defense forced the Raiders to punt.

A third-down tackle by Watertown senior tri-captain Sean McCusker in the middle of the field ended the ensuing Spartan drive. This was the point at which the game changed. Spartan sophomore Matt Lowe booted the ball in the air to Ortiz at the Raider 23, and Ortiz returned the ball 77 yards for a touchdown. 

During the extra point try, a threat of lightning forced the officials to suspend play for a few minutes while the threat passed overhead. When play resumed, Cacia added the extra point to give the Raiders a 20-14 advantage with 1:41 remaining before halftime.

Then the Raiders put the game out of reach. On the first play after the touchdown, Cann threw a pass on the sideline that was picked off by Riley in coverage at the Stoneham 28 yard line.

“Logan made a great play,” Cacace said. “It was a play-action pass into the flat and Logan cut it off for the interception.”

The turnover by the Spartans would generate points for Watertown. Ortiz scooted on the outside to set up a first and goal at the Spartan 10 yard line. On the next play, Farrar delivered a pass to Ortiz in the front corner of the end zone for the score.

In the second half, neither team would score as both defenses tightened up.

“We made a few adjustments and forced [Stoneham] into passing situations where they weren’t so comfortable,” Cacace said.

The two teams exchanged the ball on fumbles on consecutive downs.

“The kids never did quit.  Opportunities came our way,” Pignone said.  “[In the second half w]hen Watertown fumbled on their [three yard line] we fumbled right back to them.  A score there takes you to a 27-21 game.”

“It’s a process when you try to improve a program,” Pignone continued.  “We were an 0-11 team last year.  We have seen a whole lot of improvement.  It’s a process to learn how to win those close games.”

Watertown (6-0)   13  14  0  0 - 27

Stoneham (2-4)       7    7  0  0 - 14

S — Paul Delorfano 31 pass from Andrew Cann (Anthony Aidonidis kick); 7:31

W — Logan Riley 41 run (Joe Cacia kick); 4:51

W — Giovanni Ortiz 23 pass from Joey Farrar (two point conversion failed); 0:00

S — Delorfano 1 run (Aidonidis kick); 5:59

W — Ortiz 77 punt return (Cacia kick); 1:41

W — Ortiz 10 pass from Farrar (Cacia kick); :50

Stoneham

Rushing: Matt Tecci 7-60, Paul Delorfano 17-57, Erick Bidot 2-16, Andrew Cann 6-(-11). Totals: 32-122.

Passing: Cann 6-14-1 for 94 yards.

Receiving: Dylan Owens 3-43, Delorfano 1-31, Eric Mooney 2-20.

Watertown

Rushing: Logan Riley 9-97; Giovanni Ortiz 12-82; Danny Loprete 2-8; Joey Farrar 3-(-5). Totals: 24-174.

Passing: Farrar 7-9-0 for 114 yards; Ortiz 1-2-0 for 17 yards.

Receiving: Ortiz, 5-99; Dimitri Martinos 1-17; Riley 1-10; T.J. Hairston 1-5.