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Marshfield Handles North Andover, Headed to Gillette for State Title Game

11/23/2014, 12:45pm EST
By Brian Shacochis

The Marshfield Rams will play for a state championship at Gillette Stadium on December 6th, thanks to their win in the state semi-finals over North Andover, 34-15.

On one hand, the game outcome appeared clear for most of the night, yet at the same time, the outcome could have been far more closely contested if 3 specific plays had gone differently.

In a 3-score game, Marshfield managed to score their final 3 touchdowns on fourth down plays (from 5 yards, 1 yard, and 4 yards out). If one or two (let alone all 3) of those plays had resulted in stops, the contest would have played out with far greater drama.

But of course, it doesn't matter what might have happened, because what did happen was that Marshfield converted those plays and showed poise under pressure when it mattered most. 

The Rams played fearless football from the opening kickoff, cruising through a Scarlet Knight defense that had recently held opponents scoreless for 16 straight quarters.

Frank Catanoso finished the opening drive with a 24-yard touchdown run.

Danny Dalton capped Marshfield's second drive off with a 34-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Jack Masterson.

The Rams maintained their momentum into the second quarter, scoring on their third straight possession, as Masterson connected with Dalton again for a 5-yard score on 4th down.

North Andover closed the half with a scoring drive that put points on the board with just 5 seconds remaining in the second quarter, sending the teams to the locker room with a 20-7 tally in Marshfield's favor.

The Rams came back out firing to open the third quarter, finishing an 11-play, 81-yard drive with a TD plunge by Masterson from 1 yard out on 4th down.

North Andover speedster Jukka Morales returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown, but the Rams kept their composure and drove right back down for another score on the following drive, which finished with Masterson brilliantly ad-libbing his way into the end zone on a broken 4th down play.

The Scarlet Knights kept fighting into the fourth quarter, driving down to a first-and-goal situation, but Adam McNamara shot into the backfield to force a fumble, and Will Habel recovered it to end any threat of a comeback attempt and lock up the Rams' ticket to the state championship game at Gillette Stadium.

Marshfield will take on western Massachusetts power Longmeadow on December 6th to decide the Division 2 state champion. Game time will be determined and announced soon.

In the meantime, the Rams will travel to Duxbury for their annual Thanksgiving clash with the Dragons. Go Rams!

Tag(s): News  Varsity