Wildcats Fall Just Short for Second Straight Turkey Bowl Loss

Editor's Note: The following is a complete recap of Thursday's game, .

Tewksbury High quarterback Kevin Saunders came up with what was undoubtedly the best offensive performance of his career in leading the Redmen to a thrilling, 28-21 come-from-behind victory over Wilmington Thursday morning at Doucette Field.

Saunders rushed for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns, and then engineered the winning drive late in the fourth quarter, hitting senior wide receiver Frank McLaughlin with a 32-yard touchdown pass with just 1:31 left to play in the game. Saunders' heroics added yet another chapter to what has become a storybook season for the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 2 champion Redmen.

"It was unreal. It was one of those games you dream about," Saunders said afterward. "The whole time in the locker room before the game I was on the verge of tears. I couldn't talk to anybody because this was my last time coming onto this field. It was something special and I knew I had to perform."

"We knew coming in he was a good player," said Wilmington Coach Mike Barry. "We knew he was probably a better runner than a passer and you saw that (ability) out there today."

Ironically, there was some doubt that Saunders would even be healthy enough to play in this game, as the QB suffered a mild concussion on Nov. 4 against Haverhill. Saunders missed the second half of that game and sat out the entire game against Chelmsford on Nov. 11, but with an extra five days to prepare for the Thanksgiving Day game, Saunders came back healthy.

That was clear from the get-go as Saunders wasted no time getting Tewksbury onto the scoreboard when he ran 40 yards for a touchdown just 1:05 into the first quarter. It came on Tewksbury's third play from scrimmage.

Wilmington, however, was in no mood to sit and watch  and the Wildcats roared right back and took a 7-6 lead after senior running back John Parsons scored on an eight-yard run just over three minutes later.

, who had an impressive final game in his own right, gave the Wildcats a 14-6 lead when he threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Parsons early in the second quarter.

"I'm so proud of this team," said Barry. "I wouldnt trade any of them. The way they've fought back all year long and even today. You lose by one score to a team that's heading to the playoffs, how can you not be proud?"

But this was going to be Saunders' day no matter what, and he proved that four plays later when he burst through a huge hole and sprinted 56 yards for his second touchdown of the game, pulling TMHS to with 14-12 at the half.

After a scoreless third quarter, Tewksbury appeared to have taken control of the game when Saunders and combined on an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Saunders rushed for three first downs (two were third-down conversions) during that drive and Bettano electrified the home crowd with a 31-yard touchdown run, his 14th of the season. Bettano added the two-point conversion to put Tewksbury ahead, 20-14, with just 5:18 to play.

But again, Ferreira and the Wildcats had no intention of going away easily, as the Wilmington signal caller tossed a 50-yard touchdown bomb to senior tight end Kyle Albanese. With freshman James O'Regan's third point after kick of the game, Wilmington took a 21-20 lead with 4:01 to play.

That left things up to Saunders once again, and the Tewksbury QB responded, leading his team on a 56-yard scoring drive that stood up as the game-winner. Saunders and Bettano (14 carries for 97 yards) each carried for critical third down conversions to keep the drive alive, setting up Saunders to call his own number on the game's biggest play.

Saunders' perfectly executed play fake on first-and-10 from the Wilmington 32 brought the Wilmington secondary in a step looking for the run, only to have the TMHS QB take a step back and toss a perfect spiral to McLaughlin, who was wide open on the five-yard line. McLaughlin pranced across the goal line with the game winning score, and bedlam broke loose on the Tewksbury sidelines.

"That's all it takes. When you're playing a good team, you can't make mistakes like that," said Barry, about the mised coverage on the game-winning touchdown pass. "They made a play and we didn't. We just have to play better defense."

The win puts Tewksbury (6-5 overall) back on the winning track just in time to begin preparations for next Tuesday's MIAA Division 2 playoff game with Reading High, at Reading. The Redmen were scheduled to watch film on Friday and practice on Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Tuesday night's post-season showdown.