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More from Blue Hills

Print | Comments () Posted by James Schneider, Globe Correspondent November 5, 2007 11:32 PM

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Some leftover notes from South Shore's surprising 16-14 victory over Blue Hills that didn't make it into the game story:

Blue Hills dominated play in the first half, and South Shore was lucky to go into halftime with the game scoreless. On Blue Hills' second possession, the Warriors drove to the South Shore 12 before quarterback Dave Shea was hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball away. On Blue Hills' next possession, starting at its own 23, the Warriors methodically drove down the field, reaching the South Shore 27 with under 1:30 left. But a bad pitch, a tackle in the backfield, and an incompletion on fourth and 8 meant the game went to halftime without any points on the board despite Jerry Nelson's 19 carries for 98 yards.

Speaking of bad pitches, Blue Hills essentially had to take a play out of the play book, especially important considering the Warriors only run eight total plays. Shea couldn't seem to get the pitch down on the jet play, and it cost the Warriors.

Blue Hills received a golden opportunity to tie the game late in the second half before their thrilling last-minute drive. After Blue Hills went for it on fourth and 10 (the Warriors had just lost yards on a busted jet play) and failed, South Shore took over with seven minutes left and great field position. After picking up a first down at the Blue Hills 34, things looked bleak for the Warriors, but a Frank Mogavero fumble (basically the only thing he did wrong all game) gave Blue Hills new life, with the ball on its own 26 and 4:30 left in the game.

But the Warriors couldn't make anything of it. A false start penalty made it first and 15, and then yet another poor pitch on the jet play (the last time Blue Hills would run the play) made it second and 23. An incompletion brought up a long third-down situation, and Nelson picked up 12 yards to make it a more manageable fourth and 11. But when a deep pass intended for Riley Melo was broken up on a great play by a South Shore defensive back, the Vikings took over at the Blue Hills 25 and 2:49 left on the clock.

Luckily for Blue Hills, this isn't the NFL, and the Warriors had four timeout left. They used three of them on the ensuing South Shore drive. The Vikings had a very makable third and 4 on that drive, but a QB bootleg lost three yards. A fourth-down option play was defended perfectly by Blue Hills, and they were given one last chance to tie the game.

It's hard to tell what play Blue Hills called on the 2-point conversion since Mogavero was in the backfield so quickly, but it looked like it was going to be a right tackle rush by Nelson, who was giving the Warriors an automatic 4 yards per carry (assuming Mogavero didn't jump the snap count).

And speaking of that, it appeared that Blue Hills failed to make an adjustment that ultimately cost them the game. Mogavero split the center-guard gap on the snap at least three times in the game, and his play to stop the potential game-tying 2-point conversion was a fantastic bit of football smarts and athleticism.

The Mayflower Large title is far from settled. Blue Hills' final league opponent, Bristol-Plymouth (the two teams meet on Thanksgiving), is 0-3 in the league, so the Warriors are likely to finish the year with one league loss with a Turkey Day triumph. South Shore, who has already lost to Martha's Vineyard, still has to play at Cape Cod Tech (who defeated MV) and at Southeastern. South Shore will likely have to win both games to take the league crown, and that will be quite the feat.

If South Shore does make it to the playoffs, we could be looking at a rematch in the playoffs. East Boston, who plays Madison Park this weekend in a game that will essentially decide the Boston North, has already defeated South Shore, 33-15, this season. There is a very real chance these two teams could meet in the first round of the playoffs.

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