Bulldogs in rush to win

Phinney brothers help ground up Groton

GROTON — Consider the Noble & Greenough football team to have a target on its back from here on in the Independent School League Small.

Facing their toughest test of the season yesterday, the Bulldogs paired a gutpunching rushing attack with stellar defense late to overcome fellow ISL-9 powerhouse Groton, 30-14.

Brothers Casey and Jackson Phinney help propel Nobles (3-0) to 323 rushing yards in an offensive effort that ate up a lot of clock. Quarterback John Grady barreled into the end zone for two rushing scores, and the defense produced two big turnovers.

The Zebras (2-1) put up a fight in the first half, just like the Bulldogs expected them to, but Nobles proved too much in the end with its clear size advantage in all phases of the game.

“Close game,” said Nobles coach Panos Voulgaris. “That’s a very good football team. (We) came up big in the second half in some critical moments.”

Long and methodical drives with sprinkles of big gains seemed to be the formula for Nobles the whole game. In fact, the Bulldogs completed 20 offensive snaps and two scoring plays before Groton even started its second drive.

Casey Phinney served as a primary cause of that, as the big back proved difficult to stop with 184 rushing yards. When it wasn’t him, it was Jackson Phinney — 50 yards on just eight carries — or Grady with his 52 rushing yards. Drives kept moving, which led to a 32-yard field goal from Jack Schwartz and a 6-yard touchdown run from Grady for an early 10-7 lead within the first 12 minutes of the game.

“Coming off the edge, that’s so much fun,” Casey Phinney said. “We knew Groton was a tough team. … But we capitalized, put the foot down.”

Groton’s offense proved almost as effective in the early going, despite it coming mostly in the passing attack.

Zebras quarterback Robert Long connected with Caleb Coleman frequently, especially in their first drive. Coleman caught three of his six receptions for 41 yards before running in a 14-yard touchdown right after Schwartz nailed his field goal.

But after Grady rushed for his first TD to make it 10-7, Long made a bad throw on the first play of Groton’s possession that fell into Casey Phinney’s hands for an interception. Four plays later, a Julian Tarpey 3-yard TD rush gave the Bulldogs a 16-7 lead.

Long connected with Anthony Romano for a 9-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 16-14, but big runs from the Phinneys translated to a 23-yard rushing score for Grady before the half.

Groton was still knocking on the door, but Devon Minor ultimately put the game out of reach by returning a fumble 32 yards for a touchdown and a 3014 lead in the third. The Zebras threatened a couple times after that, but Nobles was able to hang on for a second-half shutout.

“The scoop-and-score really flipped the ball game,” Voulgaris said.