EAST BRIDGEWATER – Not many high school linebackers are built like Nathan Anderson (5-11, 200 pounds) and Sean Carter (6-2, 260).
Physically imposing, the duo packed ball carriers and completed plays from close range throughout West Bridgewater High’s football team’s opening week game of the 2022 season against East Bridgewater on Friday.
So, in the second matchup between the crosstown rivals since 1980, the East Bridgewater coaching staff had to make an adjustment.
“We started running from them,” EB head coach Tim Graham said with a laugh. “Good plan: Run away from your best defensive guys. I think that was the key to everything.”
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Not only did he release running back tandem Gavin McLoud and Chris Oman for a combined 175 rushing yards, but East Bridgewater prevailed, 18-14, to notch their first win of the new year, an emphatic statement made after the team won 2- 9 campaign a season ago.
McLoud charged for the go-ahead touchdown from eight yards to put EB ahead with 5:07 to go. He finished off an 80-yard drive that lasted 4 minutes and 24 seconds.
“Especially as a junior who stepped into the shoes of (last year’s starter) Aidan Purcell, he did a great job,” praised senior co-captain Gage Williams. “I feel like he definitely carried this team on his back. We needed points and he just stepped up and made the plays we needed.”
For the Vikings, Friday not only marks the second straight win over West Bridgewater (EB won 29-17 last year), but it was also Graham’s first home win since coming on board three years ago.
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“I am happy for the children. As I told you, you have been working hard since you hired me. We took our bundles, we certainly took our bundles last year. The kids believe in Viking Pride and they do the right thing every day,” Graham said. “The wins and losses, you know, take care of themselves… They’re learning how to win. I am proud of the effort.”
Led by Anderson, Carter and senior linebacker Will DeLuca, West Bridgewater’s defensive front played stingy on the goal line on the third down: Anderson made a big tackle on a third down attempt and EB’s goal midway through the second, that led the Vikings back to the 16-yard line to settle for a 32-yard field goal by kicker Will Heath.
Carter did the same on third-and-1 early in the third quarter, bringing down EB quarterback Jake Shaw, who was escaping the pocket to the outside, to set up the fourth down. The Vikings opted to do so, a common strategy throughout the night, and sophomore Ethan Pohl came on a play to sneak in a 2-yard TD. He then tossed a dime to Sean Kenn, who walked the tightrope in the corner of the end zone to convert the two-point attempt. The sequence gave EB an 11-7 lead with 5:14 left in the frame.
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“Those are our three senior captains, so we rely on them to lead our defense. I think our entire defense played well tonight. I don’t know what the time of possession was, but it greatly favored (EB),” WB Head Coach Justin Kogler said. “The defense played hard tonight and I’m proud of them. They played hard and those three led the way.”
As EB built momentum with an onside kick recovered after Pohl’s touchdown, the defensive tandem of senior captain Jeo Pires Depina (5-foot-6, 245 pounds) and lineman Thomas Lavalle (6-foot, 265 pounds) came to life.
“In a way we were letting (the WB frontline) come to us,” said Pires Depina, who also plays offensive line. “We changed it and said, ‘Let’s take it to them.’ We put our foot on the accelerator and kept going.”
Securing the second straight win in the rivalry will give the Vikings bragging rights ahead of another likely matchup a year from now.
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“We get along well, we are cordial, but we do not love each other as peoples. Each time they had a conversation about uniting the two schools and it didn’t work. Blue and maroon don’t mix well,” Graham said. “It is a long historical tradition. I’m glad I brought it back. Both communities came out tonight, so it was amazing for football.”
“It feels amazing. First home win for Coach Graham, so that definitely got the season off to a good start,” Williams said. ) We have to do what we have to do.”
West Bridgewater is a quality contender once again
The way last year ended did not sit well with West Bridgewater.
Despite a 6–1 season in 2021, the Wildcats fell out of the MIAA postseason picture as the 19th team in Division 7 (only the top 16 finishers).
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So this year, much of the cast is back, and the competition is up: Eight games are scheduled on the West Bridgewater slate, up from seven last fall. Norwell, Brighton, Littleton and Bristol Plymouth stand out as new matchups this year.
DeLuca, who carried the ball 15 times for 97 yards and a touchdown in Friday’s loss, is the main component of the WB’s dominant offensive approach.
“He loves soccer and it means a lot to him,” Kogler said. “I was frustrated that he kept having cramps (on Thursday), but I expect no less from him. He is a competitor, that is what it is about.”
Junior quarterback James Harris is also back in uniform. He rushed for a 27-yard touchdown on Friday and is looking for a strong recovery in his first full year as a starter after spending part of last season injured.
“James is doing a great job. He is getting better every week,” Kogler said. “He is picking up the offense quite well and we are going to look for him to continue improving.”
In addition to the defensive core of Anderson, Carter and DeLuca, other key playmakers for the Wildcats are senior linemen Berdy Charles and Jesse Ames, as well as junior linebacker James Frechette, junior safety Luke Destrampe and junior cornerback Miguel Pleasants. On Friday, Destrampe made an incredibly athletic play to hit a shot deep in the air for Pleasants to intercept, prompting an EB fumble.
West Bridgewater takes the field against Fairhaven (Friday, September 16 at 6:30 pm) on the road.
“I give them credit, they don’t have a great roster and neither do we,” EB’s Graham said. “But they’re really tough kids and they stuck with us there for a while.”