Wahconah Falls Just Short in State Quarter-Finals

NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. – Down 22-6 at half-time, the Wahconah football team battled to get within an onsides kick attempt of having a chance to upset Northbridge in Friday’s Division 7 State Quarter-Final.

 

But that kick with 3 minutes, 23 seconds left was unsuccessful, and the Rams succeeded in getting the one first down they needed to run out the clock in a 22-14 win.

 

Gio Venable threw for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but Northbridge took advantage of a short field on two first-half scoring drives to score just enough points to advance to next week’s state semi-finals.

 

“Our kids are tough,” Wahconah coach Gary Campbell Jr. said. “They play hard. They care about each other.

 

“We did a really good job, defensively, in the second half, and even offensively in spurts, we did a good job. When it comes down to it, we just didn’t do a good job blocking their defensive ends. We had a horrible time doing that. We had to make plays out of nothing, and then when we could have made a play here and there, we just didn’t.

 

“And, at the end of the day, we came up a little short.”

 

Wahconah finished the season 8-2 and reached the Elite 8 of the state tournament for the first time since 2022.

 

In the first quarter, they traded TDs with the fourth-seeded Rams.

 

Northbridge started its first possession at the plus-42 after a failed fake punt on fourth-and-4, and Mo Daigle ran the ball eight times for all 42 yards, the last 2 to make it 6-0. Mason Mawn’s two-point conversion throw was good, and the hosts had an eight-point lead.

 

After the ensuing kick, Wahconah’s offense returned to the field at its 37 and drove all the way to the end zone.

 

Venable completed an 18-yard pass to Micah Roberts on a fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive and capped it with a 15-yard throw to Trevion Hawkins in the corner of the end zone. Wahconah’s two-point conversion try failed, and Northbridge held on to an 8-6 lead.

 

The Rams’s special teams came up big on the ensuing kick, as Tanner Haden returned the ball 64 yards to the 12 with time running out in the first quarter.

 

On the first play of the second quarter, Mawn threw to Daigle for a 3-yard TD to make it 14-6.

 

Wahconah’s next possession stalled when a fourth-and-12 pass came up 2 yards short at the Northbridge 30 with 9 minutes, 14 seconds left in the half.

 

The Rams then went 70 yards in 15 plays – 14 on the ground – to burn the rest of the clock and score on a fourth-and-goal sneak at the 1 by Mawn as the clock ran out. Northbridge then executed a trick play for the two-point conversion to go into the locker room up, 22-6.

 

Northbridge got the ball to start the second half, but Wahconah’s defense held the hosts to a 3-and-out, and Wahconah got the ball back after a punt at its 11.

 

Venable directed his team from the shadow of its goal line to the Northbridge 10, completing four passes for 81-yards on the drive. He again picked up a fourth down, this time with a 30-yard pass to Anthony Englyshe on fourth-and-16 after Englyshe made a spectacular, leaping, one-handed grab at the sideline.

 

But after getting a first-and-goal at the 10, Wahconah was tackled for a loss on first down and took a 5-yard penalty on second. It ended up needing to convert on fourth down and goal from the 17, and Northbridge made the stop.

 

Wahconah’s offense became more one-dimensional as the game progressed as Northbridge’s massive defensive front was able to bottle up the running game.

 

“We couldn’t run inside at all,” Campbell said. “We were outmatched in there. Let’s face it, our biggest guy in there is 175 pounds, and they’re 250, 260. But, again, we fought like hell.”

 

Wahconah’s defense held the Rams to a three-and-out, but Northbridge returned the favor at the start of the fourth quarter, getting the ball back to Mawn and the offense at the plus-40 with 10-23 on the clock and a two-score lead.

 

The Rams drove to the 26, but their offense generated just two complete passes in four attempts for 3 yards, and Wahconah regained possession at its 23.

 

Again, Venable and the Wahconah passing game stepped up, completing five of nine attempts in a 77-yard scoring drive that again featured a fourth-down pickup, a gotta-have-it 2-yard run by Jerry Beaubrun that kept the drive alive at the Northbridge 44.

 

Venable also had a huge pickup in the ground game, scrambling for 7 yards after recovering his own fumble in the backfield.

 

He capped the drive with a 24-yard completion to Englyshe with 3:23 remaining. Roberts ran in the two-point conversion to make it a one-score game at 22-14.

 

But Wahconah was unable to get the onside kick 10 yards down the field before its kicking team was forced to down the ball and give possession to the Rams. And Mawn picked up a third-and-2 with a 5-yard run with less than 2 minutes left. Northbridge then was able to run out the clock to secure the win.

 

“We’re a couple of plays short tonight,” Campbell said. “That game keeps going, you never know. You can tell our kids were in good shape. They fought their tales off. I’m really proud of them.”