Photo: Tyler Reynolds on his game-winning TD run vs. Cambridge.

Seven weeks of frustration for Belmont High Football came to an end on a last minute 40-yard touchdown dash by senior running back Tyler Reynolds gave the Marauders a 28-21 victory over host Cambridge Rindge and Latin School on Friday night, Oct. 27.

Reynold’s sprint – sprung by a critical block from senior wide receiver Luke Hopkins – up the gut of the Falcon’s defense with 59 seconds remaining came after Cambridge tied the score at 21 with 4 minutes remaining, negating a Belmont 21-7 halftime lead. 

“Even when [Cambridge] tied it back up in the fourth quarter, my O line kept blocking for me. Then we scored, it was the best feeling in the world,” Reynolds told the Belmontonian after the game.

“Even after all the adversity we’ve faced to go 0 and 7 in our first seven games to come out and win this game on the road just shows a lot about what we do here and all the heart this team has,” said Reynolds. 

“I’m so proud of these guys. They never quit, not in our previous games and not here when they tied it up late in the fourth [quarter],” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin, whose team piled up 408 yards in total offense, most of that on the ground.

Belmont (1-7) is on the road again Friday as they take on Burlington (1-7) which won its first game of the season Friday, 21-20, over Revere. 

Held at Russell Field in the Alewife neighborhood, Belmont’s game plan changed from a pass-oriented system to pounding the ball at the Falcons’ after both Reynolds and junior back Killian O’Connell took “huge chunks of yards” on the initial offensive series, Kumin said.

“We were really anticipating to be that heavy in the run. But we came out, and it was clicking. So we said ‘forget the plan’ and keep feeding them the ball,” said Kumin.

Reynold’s scored the game’s first in the first quarter before Cambridge lit up the scoreboard with a 50-yard over the top reception by Cyrus Singh from QB Jovan Harding

In the second half, Belmont relied on junior back Killian O’Connell who scored a pair of TDs, from 19 yards and from 6 yards with 40 seconds remaining in the half to increase Belmont’s lead to 14 points.

Belmont was on the march again until midway through the third quarter when they fumbled the ball. Cambridge would capitalize through the air as Lucona grabbed his second TD pass from 11 yards out to cut the Marauder lead to 21-14 with 2:46 left in the third quarter. 

After a Belmont punt, Cambridge was on the move when sophomore outside linebacker Justin Rocha recovered a fumble on the Cambridge 28 with 6 minutes left in the game. But an attempted field goal from 30 yards out by senior kicker Aidan Cadogan hit the right upright with 5:41 remaining. And it was that man Lucona who grabbed a simple sideline pass and scampered 63 yards before scoring on the next play on an 11-yard catch to tie the game at 21 with 4:31 left.

Taking over at the 10 yard line, Belmont converted a third and five (on a 15 yard pass from senior QB George Fitzgerald to senior wide receiver Jake Pollard) and a fourth and four on a Reynolds’ 11 yard carry one play before the senior co-captain took the ball to the house for the winning score.