EASTON, Mass. – Oliver Ames did not play its best game of the season and may have been caught looking ahead to the playoffs, but the Tigers had enough to beat Canton 41-13 on Saturday afternoon at Muscato Stadium. The victory moved OA to 7-0 on the season – the team’s first perfect regular season since 1964.
It may have been a comfortable win for the Tigers, but after the game head coach Jim Artz expressed his disappointment in what he described as a “lethargic” performance, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“We kind of allowed a team to take away the run from us a little more than we had seen, so I wasn’t happy,” Artz explained. “You can’t just flip a switch and decide to play. I heard the kids talking about who we would play and no. 1 seed this, no. 1 that and it showed. We did not play a good football game.”
The Canton defense started the game strongly, particularly the defensive line led by Wavol Prentice, but on its first possession of the second quarter the Tigers offense finally started making plays. Matt Berksza had runs of 19 and 23 yards to get the ball to the Bulldogs five-yard line. From there, quarterback Nick Cidado found Andrew Callachan for the opening touchdown.
On the ensuing kick-off the Canton return teams could not get a handle on it and it was recovered by the Tigers at the Bulldogs’ 31. After a short run and a penalty backed the Tigers up to the 40, Cidado struck again with a touchdown pass to Berksza (20 carries, 131 yards) to make it 13-0.
After Canton went three and out on its next possession, Doug McDonald blocked the Bulldogs punt and gave OA the ball back at the 15. Four plays later, on fourth and six from the Canton 11, Cidado made it a hat trick of touchdown passes when he found Cooper Johnson in the corner of the end zone.
It was three scores in about four minutes for the Tigers and Canton head coach Dave Bohane was disappointed in the positions that his defense was forced into in the second quarter.
“We just had a hard time moving the ball and getting first downs, which put or defense in bad spots all day. Plus, we turned the ball over a few times, “said Bohane.
He added, “Defensively, we didn’t play well enough to win but probably played good enough to be in a football game at the end and our offense just didn’t get it done.”
On the kick-off that followed OA’s third score, junior wideout Derek Harris took the return 70 yards to get the Bulldogs on the board before halftime. According to Bohane, Harris is one of the Bulldogs best big-play threats.
“We tried to get him involved today more than usual, but it wasn’t easy. He’s a playmaker. When we get him involved, we’re a better team.”
Any momentum that Canton may have had at halftime was wiped out on the Tigers opening drive of the second half. With decent starting field position at its own 46, the OA offense marched 54 yards on eight plays, capped by a Joey Tepper four-yard touchdown to make it 28-7. The Tigers would add another following a fumble recovery by captain Danny McCarthy, as Cidado (9-15, 106 yards, four TD, Int.) threw a touchdown pass to Sam Kelly.
Artz was not pleased with his offense, despite putting up 41 points. He was pleased with the defense and said that it deserved more credit for the success this season.
“Our defense all year long has been unbelievable,” said Artz. “They haven’t gotten a lot of credit, but again they didn’t give up points today [late Canton score was against second string]. Our defense has played phenomenal. The offense…it was just uninspired football.”
With the Division 3 Southwest playoffs beginning next week, there is some concern for the OA coaching staff. Artz recognizes the significance of a perfect regular season but also pointed out that starting Friday, that record will not matter.
He emphasized, “It’s got some historical value, but from this point forward no one cares and it’s win or go home.”
“It scares me because if we play like this going forward then it’s going to be one and done and we’re out of here. These kids have worked too hard; the coaches have worked too hard for this to be a one and done performance.”
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.