Monty Tech’s comeback falls short vs. Burncoat
Monty Tech can’t finish rally in season-opener
ASHBURNHAM » A solid comeback fell just short for the Monty Tech football team.
Trailing by 18 points at the half, the Bulldogs — playing without their star player due to a questionable second personal foul penalty and subsequent ejection — turned things around and limited visiting Burncoat to 35 yards in the second half and caused two turnovers, but could not pop in that game-winning scoring drive.
Monty Tech fell, 32-28, in its season opener at Arthur I. Hurd Memorial Field Saturday morning.
While the loss hurts, Monty Tech coach Tony Secino found a silver lining just before 1 p.m.
“I am just proud of the whole team effort,” Secino said. “Listen, you take the best player off any team, and I’m sure things will get hairy, and things got hairy for us in the second quarter. In the second half, we calmed down, and we were going to see how it goes.
“We were right with them at the beginning, but give them credit; they made the plays at the beginning of the game to make (the win) happen. But our younger kids, they grew up in the game. If you don’t play at this level, you don’t know what it takes; they need to get in the game
and understand what you need to do to grow into the speed of the game.”
Multiple storylines filled this matinee.
Monty Tech’s young offensive line had to grow up on the fly against the Patriots, who got into the Bulldog backfield with ease in the first half, as well as a handful of times in the second. The Bulldogs lost Cenceir Mills early in the second quarter after the back judge, lined up practically in Westminster, flagged him for targeting and his subsequent ejection mere moments after being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after his 48-yard TD run to make it 18-14.
The Purple and Gold felt like they could not buy a call after several legitimate gripes — a hold off the ball on a 43-yard TD run by Ryan Algieri and defensive pass interference seconds before Mills scored went unheeded by the officials.
But Monty Tech worked through the adversity, especially with Burncoat’s top rusher, Isaiah Wright (209 yards on 25 carries, 195 yards in the first half ) sitting out most of the second half.
With him out, Monty Tech’s defending turned stout and forced a punt and two fumbles in the third quarter before the Bulldogs capitalized on the second, as quarterback TJ Farr (12-of-25, 168 yards passing, two TDs, two INTs; 66 yards rushing, 19 carries, TD run) connected with Gardner native Brady Burpee on a 6-yard scoring strike in the back of the end zone to make it a 32-20 affair early in the fourth.
Farr found himself sacked twice in the next Bulldog drive, forcing a punt, but the defending held firm on fourth-and-8 to give the ball back to Monty Tech with 4:42 re
maining at its own 39.
Farr then ripped off an 11-play, 61-yard scoring drive that saw him call his own number four times, as well as rip off three big pass plays while Jonah Roach converted a key fourth-down conversion to get the ‘Dogs over midfield.
Farr followed that up with a 10-yard carry of his own before connecting with Lunenburg sophomore Logan Quinn for a 21yard gain to get Monty Tech into the red zone. Two snaps later, Farr found Burpee at the Patriot 2.
Two plays later, he playfaked to Roach and went off the right side of the line before he plunged in for two to account for the final score with 1:17 left.
Burncoat knelt out the remaining time to secure the win.
This one was a shootout early, as both teams registered TDs in their initial drives of this Fall II slate. Burncoat opened with a three-play, 49-yard drive that saw Wright scored from 10 yards away, bouncing right and diving for the pylon, before Monty Tech answered immediately, with Farr connecting with Mills on a 73-yard slant pattern, tying the game at 6.
“(Mills) is a player, and I’m actually surprised he hasn’t been getting recruited more than he has been,” Secino challenged. “But he’s a really good player, a captain, a leader on this team.
“And TJ, he’s a four-year
starter for us, and knows what it takes to win, he competes all the time, and I’m going to miss him when he’s gone.”
Burncoat struck right back as quarterback Micah Haynes found Kwasi Boayke from 19 yards away, giving the tourists from the north side of Worcester a 12- 6 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
Algieri then motored 43 yards to go up by two scores, 18- 6.
Monty Tech answered on the second play of the second quarter.
After Farr connected with Mills for a 16-yard gain to convert on third down to end the first, Farr handed off to Mills on an iso, and the birthday boy went up the middle and cut right before he turned on the afterburners, scoring from 48 yards away.
Farr’s conversion pass to Mason Bourque was true, and Monty Tech trailed by four, 18-14.
Wright scored on the next series on a speed sweep from nine yards away, before Boayke picked Farr off just inside the sideline to set up a 3-play, 27-yard scoring driving that saw Wright score from eight yards away to make it 32-14 with 7:15 to go until halftime.
The Bulldogs were slated to host Bay Path at Oakmont Regional next Saturday morning, but that game has been canceled due to the Minutemen being in COVID protocols.