Heroes aplenty
Full plate of standouts on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day football is a time-honored tradition, one of which memories are made to last a lifetime and then some.
We were not disappointed last Thursday when we witnessed several of those special events. For me, nothing was better than Marshfield where head coach Lou Silva was sent off the field as a winner for the 242nd and final time. Silva spent 37 years building the Marshfield program into one of the elite in the state, yet was informed by school officials he would not be asked back for 2018.
“I’m disappointed; it still hurts,” Silva told the Herald last week. “They still have not given me one specific reason as to why. I’ve tried to put my finger on it, but I just don’t know.”
The Rams made sure folks were leaving happy as they edged Duxbury, 18-15. For the record, Silva said he might be done at Marshfield, but he has indicated on several occasions he is far from done coaching.
A school could do a hell of a lot worse than bringing in a class act like Lou Silva.
Let’s look elsewhere to find some other places were heroes were made.
BETTER THAN NOTHING — BC High fell one game short of its quest to play in the Division 1 Super Bowl, but the Eagles will still add some hardware to the trophy case. They earned some revenge by defeating archrival Catholic Memorial — the team which stunned them in a sectional semifinal — at Fenway Park to clinch the Catholic Conference title outright.
DYNAMIC DUO — Apponequet faced a difficult task in trying to slow down Old Rochester’s tandem of Harry Smith and Will Garcia. Like many other teams this season, the Lakers had their issues as the two combined to rush for 388 yards and six touchdowns in a 43-14 win.
SAVING THEIR BEST FOR THANKSGIVING — For the second straight year, Gloucester had a running back break a single-game rushing record against Danvers on Turkey Day. A year after Christian Sanfilippo ran for 293 yards against Danvers, Jan Pena-Ortiz bettered that as he romped for 326 yards in a 40-28 win.
CROWDED AT THE TOP — Hamilton-Wenham had a chance to clinch the Cape Ann Kinney title outright. Ipswich had other ideas, stunning the favored Generals in overtime, 22-20, on a 2-yard TD run by Ben Yanakakis, followed by his game-winning conversion pass to Alex Bruhm. The win created a three-way tie for the league between Hamilton-Wenham, Ipswich and Lynnfield.
UNWELCOME CHRISTENING GIFT — Winthrop was all excited to be able to play a home game at newly refurbished Miller Field for the first time in two years. Revere kicker Badr Haou ended the fun when he booted a game-winning 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds left to give the Patriots a 17-14 win.
PERFECT 10 — East Boston extended its winning streak over South Boston to 10 games with a 16-0 victory at White Stadium, setting the stage for next year’s 100th game in the series.
Sweet 16
1. EVERETT (10-0): Not exactly a Grade-A effort at Fenway, something you know the coaches will remind the players about.
2. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (10-1): Another consistently solid season for Chuck Adamopoulos and his Raiders.
3. KING PHILIP (11-0): The mighty Warriors steamroll through Franklin to extend their winning streak to a state-best 24 games.
4. DENNIS-YARMOUTH (12-0): The Dolphins were too much for Nauset on Thanksgiving.
5. LINCOLN-SUBDURY (11-0): Coach Tom Lopez wasn’t lying when he said the Warriors wouldn’t be resting anyone on Thanksgiving to get ready for the Super Bowl.
6. BC HIGH (10-1): The Eagles made sure they left the 2017 season with some hardware as they clinched the Catholic Conference title at Fenway Park.
7. MASHPEE (12-0): The Falcons doubled up on Sandwich to extend their win streak to 19 games.
8. NORTH ATTLEBORO (11-1): The Red Rocketeers survived a defensive battle with rival Attleboro on Thanksgiving Day.
9. XAVERIAN (7-4): The Hawks rolled over St. John’s Prep for the fifth straight season.
10. MELROSE (12-0): the Red Raiders had little trouble with Wakefield on Thanksgiving Day.
11. BRIDGEWATER-RAYNHAM (9-2): The nine-win season is the best since 2010 and moves longtime coach Dan Buron to within six wins of the magical 200 mark.
12. NATICK (10-1): The Redhawks get the better of Framingham once again to reach double-digits in victories this season.
13. MILLIS (11-1): The Mohawks proving yet again that they might be small in numbers, but large in stature.
14. TEWKSBURY (10-2): Heck of a win for the Redmen against a vastly improved Wilmington team on Thanksgiving Day.
15. MARBLEHEAD (10-1): Andy Clough did everything but sell tickets against Swampscott on Thanksgiving.
16. LYNN ENGLISH (10-1): The Bulldogs said they were looking for revenge against Lynn Classical and boy did they ever get it.