Perfect Fin-ish
Dolphins cap 13-0 season
FOXBORO — Dolphins typically feed on fish and squid. Yesterday in the Division 5 state championship at Gillette Stadium, they feasted on Terriers.
Behind standout performances from the senior duo of quarterback Jacob McCarthy and running back/ linebacker Robert Evans Jr., and a dominating performance from the defense, Dennis-Yarmouth overwhelmed West Springfield, 37-7, to sew up the program’s first Super Bowl title since 2011.
McCarthy finished 14-for-22 for 167 yards and two touchdowns, while Evans carried the ball 15 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Evans also had an interception return for a score to pace a defense that allowed just 165 total yards to the Western Mass. champion Terriers.
“I am really proud of these kids,” Dennis-Yarmouth coach Paul Funk said after his team finished the season at 13-0. “They have done everything we asked them to do. They did a million things, and the one thing we needed to do (today) was finish the season, and they did it.”
For 10 minutes it looked as if the Div. 5 state final would be close. That changed quickly in the second quarter.
After a 20-yard scamper from Evans closed out the first quarter and put the Dolphins inside West Springfield territory, McCarthy found senior Joseph Tierney for a 46-yard touchdown pass that put DennisYarmouth up 7-0.
The next time the Terriers touched the ball, Evans picked it off and returned it 28 yards to the house to make the D-Y lead 14-0 in a flash.
Evans later added to the secondquarter total when he broke free for a 20-yard touchdown run as the Dolphins went into halftime up 20-0.
“Everyone on this team did their job 110 percent today,” Evans said.
Evans made it a four-score game on the first play of the second half, when he rumbled 53 yards down the right sideline to put Dennis Yarmouth up 28-0 with the help of a Tierney-from-McCarthy conversion pass.
A 9-yard scoring strike from McCarthy to freshman Geoffrey Jamiel later in the third quarter pushed the lead to 35-0.
West Springfield (11-2) handed the Dolphins the final two points early in the fourth quarter after snapping the ball out of the end zone on a punt attempt. The Terriers finally broke through in the final minutes on a 77yard TD pass from Cameron Paier to Leeony Tessier.
But, in the end, it was Dennis-Yarmouth’s day to celebrate.
“This was the best game we played all year,” said McCarthy. “This is so unbelievable.”