Red Raider Woes Continue With 8th Loss

On the first offensive play of the game Barnstable scored.

That momentum - caused by senior running back DeMichael Johnson’s 47-yard score on the game’s first snap - seemed to buoy the Red & White and breathe life into its apparently depleted sidelines.

In bitter cold, beneath dark gray skies and a driving rain, Barnstable completely dominated the first quarter versus host Wellesley (4-4), running up a 15-0 advantage that for all intents and purposes had the hosts looking every bit as intimidated as the Red Raiders had hoped for. Following Johnson’s 47-yard rush to paydirt, Barnstable quarterback Griffin Burke ran in a two-point PAT to make it 8-0 just 12 seconds into the opening of the game. Ten minutes later, Burke found junior wide receiver Eric Holzman in the back of the end zone on a leaping grab to make it 14-0. Senior placekicker Akeem McPherson split the uprights to make it 15-0.

But just six seconds after Barnstable established that lead, the mistakes began to pile up as Wellesley quarterback Jake Mohan found a wide open Griffin Morgan for a 66-yard touchdown to make it 15-6. Halfway through the second quarter, Mohan scored again from 10 yards out and Morgan’s kick was good to make it 15-13.

But for the first time this season, Barnstable went to the halftime locker room with a lead when Burke found junior wideout Nathan Balthazard open on a slant route for a 23-yard touchdown that made it 21-13. The PAT kick failed, but Barnstable had seemed to establish itself.

So it seemed.

T.J. Noonan, an apt power fullback amid a fairly diminutive Wellesley collective, ripped off consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter and on the first play of the 4th quarter that gave the hosts a spirit-quenching, 27-21 lead. Barnstable’s mistakes - it fumbled five times in this game, losing four of those fumbles, and added an intercepted pass for a touchdown late in the 4th - had finally come back to haunt the Red & White.

Still, Barnstable revealed moments of heart when Burke tore off his best run of the season - 42-yards - on Barnstable’s ensuing possession on a 2nd and 14 play, putting BHS into the red zone and ready to strike. Burke was upended on the tackle and landed squarely on top of his head and was sent to the sidelines. Sophomore Keaton Bergal stepped in and helped drive the Red Raiders to the six-yard line. Burke returned and showed his mettle when he punched it in from the three-yard line (an interference call preceded the play) to make it 27-27. The PAT pass play failed, but with just 4:57 left in the game, it seemed the Red Raiders just might board the postgame busses with renewed vigor.

Barnstable’s defense stepped up and forced Wellesley to punt after three plays, but the hosts then returned the favor.

Wellesley smelled blood.

After an 8-yard Mohan run, followed by a 10-yard pass to Jack Dolan, a late hit out of bounds by Barnstable proved costly. Mohan found Dolan wide open on the ensuing play and Dolan ran it in 11 yards to make it 33-27. The PAT kick was good and the score was 34-27 with just 1:16 left.

With just a minute to go, Barnstable’s Burke (7-17, INT, 2 TDs, 98 yds.) threw up a deep pass that Dolan picked off at the 50-yard line and ran into the end zone to make it 40-27. The PAT kick was good and Barnstable’s hopes to snap out of this 8-game, season-long funk were dashed.

Johnson carried the ball 10 times for 81 yards and a touchdown for Barnstable. Ryan Dauphinais - who notched five first down runs on short yardage in key situations - carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards. Eric Holzman had two receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown and continues to lead Barnstable in the receiving and scoring department this season. Owen Murray registered 3.5 sacks on the day for the Red & White.