Dartmouth secures OCL title

DARTMOUTH - Dartmouth's 35-21 victory over Attleboro last night was about proving. No. 20 Attleboro proved that it does not yet belong among the elite Division 1 teams. No. 1 Dartmouth, which clinched its third straight Old Colony League championship, proved that, amid skepticism, it is the top team in the state.

Late fourth-quarter touchdown runs by quarterback Sean Sylvia and receiver Justin Mello iced a contest in which the Indians fought back from a 14-point first-quarter deficit.

"Everybody contributed tonight," said coach Richard White. "Hats off to Attleboro, they played a great game. We're fortunate to get a league championship."

Sylvia, starting his second game since returning from an injured hamstring, was able to put Dartmouth up for good with less than two minutes left in the third quarter. In what proved to be a successful play in the second half, the Indians faked a jet sweep to Mello while Sylvia ran up the middle for 13-yard touchdown that put his team up, 21-14.

Evan Davenport, a contributor on offense at running back, picked off Attleboro quarterback Michael Barry on the next play.

With a slim lead heading into the fourth, Sylvia repeated the fake jet sweep, this time resulting in a 9-yard scoring run.

Attleboro answered on its next drive with Matt Campbell's second touchdown run of the night, closing the gap to 28-21 with more than six minutes to play.

With less than three minutes remaining, Mello ran 12 yards for an insurance score, and Richard Bellizzi's fifth PAT ended the scoring.

Attleboro benefited from the big play in the first quarter, building a 14-0 lead. The Bombardiers' first drive was sustained by a 3-yard bootleg by Barry on fourth and 2, then capped when Campbell burned the defense for an 11-yard touchdown run.

Following a Dartmouth three-and-out, the Bombardiers blazed 90 yards in two plays. Brenden Dozier set the tone with a punishing 46-yard run. Barry followed with a screen pass to Tyler McCarthy that evolved into a 44-yard touchdown completion, catching the Indian defense off guard.

The second quarter, however, belonged to Dartmouth. It started with star receiver Mello hauling in a high pass from Sylvia for a 26-yard gain. The catch set up a 1-yard sneak from Sylvia, cutting Attleboro's lead in half.

Arthur Lynch showed why he will be putting on his pads for Georgia next year. On third and 6, Lynch caught a pass 20 yards downfield, tore through two Attleboro defenders, and ran the remaining distance for a 61-yard touchdown.