Football Secures Fifth Straight Conference Championship; Downs Curry 45-17

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott football team scored 35 unanswered points to defeat Curry, 45-17, and lock up its fifth straight Conference of New England (CNE) Championship on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium.

Prior to the game, 27 seniors were honored with their families for their contributions to the Endicott football program.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Colonels forced a few key stops to pull ahead going into halftime with a 17-10 score. National rushing leader Montie Quinn (Goose Creek, S.C.) banged out 166 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts to headline the Colonels' offense.

Quinn kicked off the scoring in the contest with a 28-yard dash to the endzone, but the Gulls quickly responded with a 2:23 drive that resulted in an 11-yard rushing touchdown for quarterback Shea Lynch (Peabody, Mass.).

The score stayed deadlocked at seven until Brandon Alfaro Mateo (Marlborough, Mass.) nailed a go-ahead field goal to cap off an 88-yard drive for the Gulls with 14:05 remaining in the half.

Then, with 3:21 to play in the half, the Colonels completed a 31-yard passing touchdown to grab hold of a 14-10 lead. Curry then forced a Gulls' punt and added another three via a 24-yard field goal as time expired in the half, pushing its lead to seven (17-10).

In the second half, the Gulls' offense came out firing on all cylinders. In just four plays and 1:34 of total time, Endicott drove 83 yards downfield to even the score at 17. Lynch did the honors himself once more, as he made another four-yard scamper into the endzone.

After a quick three-and-out by the defense, Markys Bridgewater (Lawrence, Mass.) exploded for a 90-yard rushing touchdown to put the Gulls in front, 24-17 (4:42 remaining, Q3).

Just 2:41 later, Bryan Ferreira (Woburn, Mass.) followed suit with a 46-yard score on the ground.

Now in front 31-17 in the fourth quarter, the Blue and Green continued to pile on via another 47-yard rushing touchdown for Bridgewater. Bryan Metayer (Norwood, Mass.) put the icing on the cake with just 1:55 remaining, finalizing the comeback and securing the conference championship by a 45-17 final score.

On the defensive side of the ball, Danny Fleming (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the way with 11 total tackles (seven solo, four assisted). 

Brian Daly (Franklin Square, N.Y.), Mason Bachry (Haverhill, Mass.), Caleb Luz (Hudson, Mass.), and Will Shannon (Topsfield, Mass.) also made six-plus tackles and combined for 4.5 tackles-for-loss, a breakup, and a hurry.

Bridgewater ended his day with 236 rushing yards on just nine attempts. He averaged 26.2 yards per rush and also punched in two long rushing touchdowns in the career outing.

Lynch concluded his first conference championship performance with 192 passing yards (10-18), while also rushing for 21 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target in the passing game was Jacob Ward (Coventry, R.I.), who hauled in six catches for 135 yards.

Ferreira and Metayer rounded out the rushing attack for the Blue and Green. Ferreira rushed for 117 yards on 12 attempts (9.8 yards per attempt) and added a touchdown, while Metayer ran for 40 yards and also punched in a score.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott's five straight conference championships tie Western New England for the longest streak in conference history.
• Bridgewater's 236 rushing yards on the afternoon shattered his previous career high of 130 (10/4/25, UNE).
• Fleming's 11 tackles tied a career best.
• Endicott has scored 41+ points in all conference games this season (averaging 54.1 per game in-conference).
• Ward's 135 receiving yards set a career-high.
• Alfaro Mateo nailed all six PATs and also converted his only field goal attempt of the day (28 yards).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (9-1, 7-0 CNE) earned the CNE's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament and awaits the selection show announcement for its matchup. The selection show can be viewed on www.ncaa.com this Sunday at 5 PM. 

Curry (8-2, 6-1 CNE) awaits selection show information in hopes of earning a spot as an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. 

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Photo Credit - (David Le '10)