Madison Pee Wee Dodgers Shut Out Roxbury

The Madison Pee Wee Dodgers put last week’s loss to Denville in their rear view mirror and took their 1-1 record to Roxbury on Saturday September 24th. Coach Nick Esposito and his staff had their players pumped, anxious to correct some simple mistakes made the previous week, and that was evident from the get go as Madison dominated for an impressive 13-0 shutout of the Gaels.

Roxbury took the opening kickoff and set off from their own 35, running the ball while testing the strength of the Madison defense. Sean Mariani, Justin Slabaugh, Aniello Vacchiano and Mayson Messuti kept the Gaels in check, with only slight gains, until a huge interception by Slabaugh gave Madison’s offense great field position.

Dodger quarterback Will Baisch stepped in behind a solid offensive line and handed off first to Anthony Contessa, who took it to midfield, then to Michael McGuire who tacked on fifteen of his own. Contessa then got the first down, bringing it to the 15 as the first quarter ended. First play of the second had Contessa thread his way through the defense easier than a taxi through a lane-closured bridge crossing, and scored. A failed pass attempt for the extra point made it 6-0 in the second.

Roxbury responded with some nice plays of their own, completing a pass and making it to the Madison 35. Scotty Spelker, Nate McKenna, Robert Ferris and Joey DeMarzo had nice tackles for Madison, but an end sweep got the Gaels a touchdown, but that was brought back on a holding penalty, and Roxbury eventually had to turn it over. Baisch wasted no time getting the ball to Jayson Candelario and McGuire, and unleashed a missile to Contessa who went 35 yards for his second TD of the day. Baischs pass to Messuti was dead on and Madison was up 13-0 at the half.

Candelario showed some fancy footwork on the kicking end of the special teams, with downfield coverage blanketed by Ben Colao, Nick McKenna, Noah Gajewski and Will Eckhardt, who stopped and advancement by Roxbury. Madisons’ defense stubbornly allowed minimal gains with stellar tackles by Mariani, McKenna, Ferris, Vacchiano, Mike Schell and Jackson Conroy. Roxburys final drive was crushed by a fumble, and Baisch took a knee to wind down the clock and preserve the shutout, 13-0. Coach Esposito summed it up by saying “ Overall I’m most proud of the teams’ effort throughout the game and their unrelenting belief in themselves.”

The Pee Wee Dodgers are back on the road next week to Newton for a Sunday showdown.