Eastie crushes Madison Park, clinches title
East Boston came through the tunnel to clinch the Boston North title once again and earn a playoff spot by dominating Madison Park, 34-0, at White Stadium last night.
''I want to talk about this football team," said East Boston coach John Sousa. ''Tonight was a total team effort. Our offensive line controlled the line [of scrimmage] the entire game. [Anthony] Malerba and [Kevin] Gilmore ran great up there.
''We put the ball up maybe once because we were controlling the line of scrimmage."
Gilmore had 13 carries for 46 yards and three touchdowns while Malerba rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. East Boston's offensive line, anchored by James Grant, controlled the clock, making it easy for the running backs to focus on running downfield and keeping the linemen of Madison Park (6-3) out of mind.
''All this week we practiced on making holes for the backs," said Grant. ''They always say we [the offensive line] start up the offense, so we protect the backs."
''The boys wanted this championship," said Sousa. ''They came over to White Stadium at night and overcame all of the adversity for a win. We had a lot of inexperienced kids this year and they worked hard to get better from Day 1. In August, when we had double sessions, I told them that it would be the hardest week. I told them to blink and it would be Thanksgiving, and here we are."
Eastie will play Boston North rival South Boston on Thanksgiving Day. East Boston (9-0) is guaranteed a playoff position regardless, but playoffs have nothing to do with that game.
''The records," said Sousa, ''we throw them them out of the window because that is a one-game traditional rivalry. It is the 87th meeting [between Southie and Eastie]. It is one of the oldest schoolboy rivalries in the country."
East Boston, which got its 21st consecutive victory, posted its third shutout this season, pressuring Madison's quarterback Richard Sheriff and taking advantage of the absence of Madison's starting running back, Angel LaCourt.
''Defensively, we knew what we had to do," said Gilmore (six tackles). ''We knew they were going to come out fired up. I knew I had to stop No. 7 [Carlos Pina] because we knew they were down Angel LaCourt."
At halftime, legendary Boston coach J.D. Dawson was lauded for his 35-plus years working in the city's football program. ''I started off coaching Pop Warner in 1968," said Dawson.
Dawson, who coached Madison Park coach Roosevelt Robinson and assistant Dennis Wilson, is described by his colleagues as a pillar in the community. ''It's a great feeling to know that the guys in the city are thinking about me," said Dawson. 