Football: Belmont Stands Up To Reading In Friday Night Battle

October 9, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo:

There was no “moral” victory Friday night in Reading, said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin after Marauders’ hard-fought, defeat at the hands of last year’s Super Bowl finalist, 47-21,

“We played a hard-fought game, and we’re excited about it. But we live in the real world, and there are no moral victories, we believe in victories, and this was a loss. We stood tall tonight, and that was great,” said Kumin.

The game under the lights was a sea change from the games played between the two rivals in the past decade.

In the first two years of Kumin’s tenure, Reading outscored Belmont 98-0. With a minute to go in the half on Friday, Oct. 7, Belmont trailed the hometown Rockets, 24-21, each team scoring three touchdowns. A late Reading score gave the home team a 32-21 half-time lead.

“We got a great football team and to have a 10 point game at the half against this team at their home, it proves that we are not going back to the days when we lost the first half by 42 points,” said Kumin.

This match-up between the long-time Super Bowl contender against the new team was not going to follow the normal script when on Belmont’s first play from scrimmage as senior RB Ben Jones found a gap in the defense and scooted 70 yards for a Belmont touchdown and a shock 7-0.

But Reading would take the lead on two plays – its long run of 67 yards by Corey DiLoreto and a 75-yard punt return from Jack Geiger – going up 16-7 after only three minutes.

But it was Belmont that showed it could not only halt Reading’s offense but on its next possession, use a combination of runs – using junior fullback Adam Deese on quick handoffs – and passes to march down the field where senior quarterback Cal Christofori found junior wide receiver Jake Pollock for a 17-yard touchdown with 20 seconds in the quarter, cutting the lead to 16-14.

The Marauders continued the momentum it had in the first by closing down the Rockets on the first drive and with runs by Jones and a 10-yard catch to sophomore Jared Edwards the Marauder offense took the ball to the Reading 40. But the drive ended when a Christofori pass went off the hands of the receiver and was picked off by senior Nick DiNapoli who returned the ball deep into Marauder territory with the Rockets scoring a short time after to retain a 24-14 lead.

But the drive ended when a Christofori pass went off the hands of the receiver and was picked off by senior Nick DiNapoli who returned the ball deep into Marauder territory with the Rockets scoring a short time after to retain a 24-14 lead.

But the setback was pushed aside as a long run by Jones, a pass interference call against Reading and a 33-yard pass from Christofori to senior wideout Dylan Ferdinand put the ball on the Rockets three-yard line. Jones then swept around the right end to bring Belmont to within three points, 24-21 with 80 seconds left in half. But it took the Rockets only 45 seconds to score its fourth touchdown in the half on a 35-yard pass from senior QB Corey DiLoreto to DiNapoli.

After the half, the Belmont offense could not find the momentum it had earlier in the game and two long Reading drives, mostly runs based on the quarterback option, allowed the Rockets to score two additional touchdowns to secure a victory in front of a small home crowd.

“But I am proud of our guys. They fought to the last whistle. They played a great football game, and we are excited to take on Winchester at Harris,” said Kumin.

Sports: Mistakes Rain on Belmont Football In Loss to Winless Woburn

October 2, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: The Belmont High defense in pursuit.

Belmont gifted Woburn its first victory of the year with a big bow on top.

On a wet, misty night, the Marauders left a season’s worth of mistakes and miscues on the field, allowing the hometown Tanners to walk off the field with the win, 10-7, under the lights, Friday, Sept. 30.

From penalties to dropped passes, unfortunate plays, and missed opportunities, Belmont lets a good chance to carry away a victory fall flat when it could not gain two yards on three plays with a minute remaining in the game, the same scenario against the same team one year ago.

After the game, Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin lamented the team’s inconsistent play over the 44 minutes.

“We played a great football game at times and a very poor football game at times. And in order to beat a Woburn at 0-3, we have to play a good football game all the time. And we did not do that tonight, period.”

But it was the miscues – something Belmont been avoiding this season – which did in the Marauders.

“We had at least 70 yards in penalties if not more. I’m afraid to look. We turned the ball over on downs; we fumbled the ball on a great drive where we had some good things going, then had great opportunities to move the ball down the field and win it at the end of the game we weren’t able to do it,” said Kumin

“And that is on me. It’s not on my [coaches], not on my players; it’s not on anyone but me,” said Kumin.

The first quarter saw Belmont at its best, with the defense halting Woburn twice inside (the first on downs, the second on a fumble recovery) the Marauders’ 20 yard line after Belmont fumbled consecutive punt returns in the first five minutes.

And it didn’t take long for Belmont to strike when on the offense’s second play senior QB Cal Christofori threw a strike to wide receiver Jared Edwards catching the sophomore in stride for a 67 yard TD at the 6 minute mark.

But the misty rain effected both offenses as the defenses of both teams took control. While Belmont’s defense was stellar all night, they allowed Woburn one-to-many long runs, including Tyler Hayden’s 48-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Belmont was also caught by a fake punt late in the second quarter that gave Woburn the ball on the Belmont 32. But the defense, behind Ryan Noone, Dennis Crowley and Adam Deese, forced the Tanners to turn the ball over on downs.

The Marauders came out throwing at the start of the second which Christofori hitting Dylan Ferdinand for 27 yards to Woburn’s 15 but a fumble by the usually reliable Ben Jones end the drive.

Woburn began its second half going into a no-huddle, running effectively over the right side of the line.

When Belmont got the ball back at the 30 yard line, the Marauders steadly moved the ball … backwards on two penalities and an ineffective pass, to the 13. And only the quick thinking of kicker Aidan Cadogan who calmly recovered a high snap and sent the ball to the 40, prevented a truely disastereous outcome.

With momentum on its side, Woburn moved the ball to the Belmont 8, but once again the defense held behind the big rush by Deese, forcing Woburn’s Brazilian transfer student Victor Scobel to hit the 23 yard field goal with nine second remaining in the third quarter.

Once again, Belmont’s offense got close – taking the ball from the Belmont 41 to Woburn’s 30 – but a dropped pass with daylight to the goal line, a penalty and another incomplete pass gave Woburn the ball back with 6 minutes remaining. Belmont nearly stopped the Tanners on three downs but a questionable pass interference call against the Marauders allowed Woburns to run more than two minutes off the clock.

With the defense giving the offense the ball back with 1:42 remaining, Belmont started in fine form, with a Jones four yard run and then a 15 yard personal foul put the ball on Belmont’s 47. After an eight yard run, the Marauders faced a second and 2 from the 46 with 61 second left in the game. But Belmont could not pick up six feet on three plays and a win was washed away.

“It’s going to hurt right now but [the players] live in the moment, they live in the reap,” said Kumin.

“The moment not isn’t great and live in it for a second because they are competitive guys and we are competitive coaches. And while we live in this moment and it will hurt, tomorrow we will break down video of the game and get ready for Reading, so it’s not getting any easier for us,” he said.

“I hope this is a wake-up call. We are a really good football team but in order to be great, we have to continue to not kicking ourselves in the butt and chopping our foot off. And that’s on me,” said Kumin.

Football: Belmont Drains SpyPonders, 17-14, on Final Play Field Goal

September 25, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: It’s good as Aidan Cadogan (#3) is congratulated after hitting the winning points vs. Arlington.

After the final whistle blew, a person on the sidelines said, “Belmont doesn’t win games like this.”

It does now.

A 31-yard field goal by junior kicker Aidan Cadogan splitting the uprights on the final play of the game gave the Belmont High Marauders a thrilling 17-14 victory over Arlington High in a Middlesex League football matchup before a large, boisterous crowd at Belmont’s Harris Field under the Friday night lights, Sept. 23.

“I’m just so proud of our guys. They live what we preach; ‘Big Play, Next Play’, ‘Livin’ in the Reap.’ All credit is due to them. I just call the play, and they go out and execute it,” said Belmont third year head coach Yann Kumin.

“It’s a new era,” said Ben Jones, the team’s workhorse who smashed 200 rushing yards for the game.

“Coach Q started it, my brother [Max Jones] started it, everyone started it who was before us. We couldn’t have done this without them. This is a new Belmont,” he said.

Belmont is currently 2-1 and 1-1 in the Middlesex League with a two-game winning streak.

On the final drive of the game as the Marauders’ was driving down the field in the closing three minutes, kicker Cadogan said he was thinking “just get it in field goal position and the team did and I’m just excited to hit the field goal.”

As he was preparing for the kick, Arlington called a timeout in an attempt to “freeze” the junior. “Normally I don’t really get iced, that’s just me. When they tried it, I said, ‘I’m going to hit this!'”

For the second consecutive week, the night’s star was senior back Jones who carried the ball 40 times for 242 yards and running in both of Belmont’s touchdowns.

“I was able to do this is because of the [offensive] line. They’ve given me holes, given me places to run,” Jones the Belmontonian outside the White Field House after the game.

“We just kept pounding it down their throats and they couldn’t stop us,” Jones said, who has scored seven touchdowns and gained 576 yards in the past two games.

“It’s just keeping up with the Jones’. That’s all we’re trying to do,” said Kumin.

The game did not start out as planned as Arlington’s junior running back Alijah Woods took the ball on the game’s third play 54 yards down the sideline to Belmont’s 6.

But on the next four plays, Belmont’s defense stood firm – led by Adam Deese, Dennis Crowley and Ryan Noone – halting the SpyPonders on Belmont’s two-yard line.

For most of the night, the preferred option was only given Jones the ball and let him pick up four, five or six yards a carry. Mixing up the plays, QB Cal Christofori hit receiver Dylan Ferdinand down the middle for 32 yard to the Arlington 33. But as Belmont was preparing to score, they lost a fumble at the 8. But two plays later, they recovered an Arlington miscue leading to Jones scoring with 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Despite having the ball for most of the second quarter, Belmont could not convert. But Arlington did in spectacular fashion. After punting with 30 seconds left in the half, Arlington’s junior Jaden Dottin took a slant pass from sophomore QB Adam Bowler and simply outran the Belmont defensive back to score with 20 seconds left in the half to tie up the game at 7.

If Arlington was hoping its fast strike would shift the momentum, it simply wasn’t coming this time in Belmont. Getting the ball to start the second half, QB Cal Christofori handed the ball off to Jones who would pick up five to seven yards with each carry, ending when Jones went to his favorite right side and popped into the end zone to give Belmont a 14-7 lead.

“Arlington’s a tough team, but I think we are a little bit tougher. We have been preaching that all season. We want to be the hardest hitting team by far and they felt it and that’s why we went took the lead,” said Jones.

But Belmont enjoyed the lead for a mere 20 seconds when senior John Nascimento ran the kickoff – which was pushed back due to a knocking the kickoff out-of-bounds – down the right sideline 70 yards for the equalizing TD.

The remainder of the game until the final drive was each defense took charge. Belmont’s Tyler Reynolds knocked away a 40 yard pass from Bowler to Dottin that would have given Arlington the ball deep in Marauders territory with three minutes remaining.

The last drive, with only 2:17 left in the game, saw a trio of big plays: a pitch to Jones who rounded the left side for 28 yards to the Arlington 37, a quarterback sneak by Christofori on fourth down to the SpyPonder’s 23 with 23 seconds left and dump pass from a scrambling Christofori to junior fullback Adam Deese who hugged the slideline going out on the 8 with only five ticks on the scoreboard.

“Adam just popped out of his protection and gave [Christofori] an outlet and that abled us to get down inside the 10 [yard line]. We got the best kicker in the Middlesex [League], and he proved that for us tonight,” said Kumin

After Cadogan hit the ball through the uprights – the kick would have been good from 40 plus yards – all that needed to be confirmed with the end of the game which came after half a minute of discussion from the refs. The whistle blew and the celebration commenced.

“Ask me when it becomes real. It’s not real!” said an ecstatic Kumin, who high-stepped across the field after the traditional handshake a-la Michael Flatl ey.

Football: Jones Records Record Breaking Run in Home Opening Win [VIDEO]

September 19, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: An exhausted Ben Jones at the end of a record-breaking effort vs. Medford.

Under the Friday Night Lights of Harris Field, Belmont High’s Senior Running Back Ben Jones scorched Medford as the running back ran for five touchdowns – four for more than 50 yards – as he piled up 334 yards in the Marauders’ biggest home opener victory in recent memory, 34-6, over the Mustangs Sept. 16 before a large crowd of residents and students.

Ben’s performance tops older brother Max’s game against Salem in 2014 in which the Belmont back ran for 261 yards and five TDs.

“Ben had a great day off tackle,” said Belmont’s third-year Head Coach Yann Kumin. “He got to the holes and off he goes.”

Jones’ 334 yards is an unofficial Marauders’ rushing record, breaking Makhi Johnson’s 280 yards set against Somerville last year.

“To be honest, it wasn’t that hard to do because I wasn’t touched on most of those runs,” said Jones, crediting his offense line for creating “huge holes” in the Mustang defense.

“All I needed to do was go straight. I was a track runner,” said Jones.

After a disappointing 21-6 loss against Stoneham last week, this past Friday was the chance for the Marauders to prove it was capable of moving the ball against a Medford team coming off an emotional win over rival Revere, 30-28. It didn’t take long after the National Anthem for the Marauders to dominate on both sides of the ball.

The Marauders bottled up Medford’s senior QB Ben Antoine who ran for 248-yards and three touchdowns against Revere, forcing the Mustangs to punt after running five plays.

On its second offensive play, Belmont QB Cal Christofori (4-7, 54 yards) handed off to Jones who made a quick move through a gap on the left side of the line and ran 59 yards for the first of five trips into the end zone at the 6:12 mark.

After a Mustang three and out – facilitated by junior OLB Adam Deese forcing a seven-yard loss on first down – Belmont took over at their 46. The next time the ball was downed was again in the end zone after Jones took the ball 54 yards to the house at 2:14 in the first quarter, giving Belmont a 14-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Medford found themselves with a fourth down and 16 for the first down on Belmont’s 29. But Antoine showed poise facing the Belmont rushers to toss a TD to sophomore WR Nathan Brand to cut the lead to 14-6.

“If that’s how they’re going to beat us, it’s going to be a good night for us,” Head Coach “Q,” told his team.

The touchdown would be the last time Medford threatened as Belmont’s line and linebackers – led by Ryan Noone, Dennis Crowley, and Dylan Ferdinand

Just before the half, Christofori marched the team down the field with a minute remaining on the clock. With 26 remaining, Jones took the rock and scampered 23 yards for his third TD on of the half, giving Belmont a 21-6 lead.

In the third quarter, Jones struck again, going 56 yards for his fourth of the night. The senior who is a state track finalist in the 200 meters sprint, took off for 83 yards in the fourth, stumbling over the goal line with cramps as she equaled his brother’s five TDs in a game.

“That was the best offensive and defensive schemes” the team had for a game in his three years at the helm, said Kumin, praising his coaching staff in preparing the varsity for the game.

“We are going to enjoy this for one night, then watch film and prepare for Arlington,” said Kumin.

Sports: Upset-Minded Belmont Football Falls to Final Minute Watertown FG, 24-22

November 27, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont RB Ben Jones runs through a wide opening in the line to score late in the fourth quarter against Watertown.

In what will be remembered as an epic Thanksgiving Day clash, Belmont’s bid for a memorable upset of arch rivals and host Watertown was derailed by the foot of sophomore Conor Kennelly as the Raiders’ kicker hit a field goal from 35 yards out with 56 seconds remaining to give Watertown a 24-22 victory over the Mauraders on Thursday, Nov. 26 at Victory Field.

“We played a great football game, all aspects of it. Our coaches did a tremendous job, planning it up for them. I was really proud of the effort we put forth in this game,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kuman, who fought off his emotions to reach out to his players.

“I hope that we sent a message to people in general that Belmont football is on the rise and Belmont football is here to stay. Get ready for us because we’re going to lick our wounds and in a month we will be back in the weight room getting ready for 2016,” said Kuman.

Calling his team’s performance Thursday, “the season’s most complete game from both sides of ball,” Kuman said the players and coaches stayed with the plans mapped out in the past two weeks in preparation for Watertown’s rushing attack and strong defensive line

“We stuck with [our plan] even though we had some execution problems in the first quarter of defense, we didn’t abandon what we practiced and prepared for,” Kuman said.

But for the fourth time in time this season, Belmont could not find a way to score or hold the lead at the end of the game.

“We have to be like the experience teams and know how to close out a game,” said Kuman.

One of Belmont’s season-long bugaboos raised its head once again as Watertown quickly marched down the field – aided by four offsides penalties against the Marauders – towards a go-ahead score. But Belmont’s interior defensive line spearheaded by senior Justin Aroyan and stopped Watertown’s running game inside the 5-yard line.

“The guys did a lot of work this week, and the coaches put in a lot of hours on the grease board and we came up with a good package,” said Kuman.

“We had faith in the guys in doing the job, and they did it,” he said.,

On his first passing attempt, Watertown junior QB Deon Smith threw the ball into the arms of junior Marauder defensive back Kevin Martin in the end zone at 4:43 in the first quarter.

After gaining a first down, Belmont’s drive stalled and on the subsequent punt attempt, the ball sailed over punter Aidan Cadogan’s head. When all was said and done, Watertown had the ball on the Marauders’ 19 when on their first play, Watertown’s Smith juked down the right side 19 yards for the opening touchdown with 56 seconds left in the first quarter.

After the kickoff, Belmont kept the ball for nearly eight minutes, mixing short runs by senior Mehki Johnson – which Watertown successfully bottled up for most of the game – and junior Ben Jones and passing by junior QB Cal Christofori to senior WR Justin Wagner (including a six-yard pickup on fourth down and four yards at the 18 yard line) culminating in Christofori finding senior WR Joe Shaughnessy on a seven-yard slant for the game-tying touchdown at 4:07 to the half.

Watertown quickly went downfield – helped by a Smith 30-yard run – finishing with senior running back Kyle Foley scoring on a 7-yard run with 41 seconds left.

But that was enough time for Christofori to complete three passes and for Johnson to break a 30 yard gain that allowed Cadogan to hit a line-drive field goal with three seconds remaining to cut the halftime lead to 14-10.

Watertown caught a break when the third quarter pooch kickoff eluded Belmont’s return team, and the Raiders recovered the ball on the Belmont 22. A few plays later, the score was 21-10 as Foley ran the ball in from 2 yards out early in the third.

But Belmont would not fold, coming out with a masterpiece of a drive,a 19 play, 11-minute possession (including a 15-yard roughing the passing personal foul on the Raiders) in which Belmont, behind the ever-improving offensive line – sophomores Dennis Crowley and Ryan Noone along with seniors Chris Piccione, Lowell Haska and Aroyan – and the bruising blocking from sophomore fullback Adam Deese saw Jones and Johnson eat up yards while Christofori connected with his favorite target Wagner.

The Marauders took the ball 81 yards where Johnson busted through for his 22nd touchdown of the season to shrink the lead to 21-16 with 9-minutes remaining. While it appeared Johnson had scored on the two-point conversion, the referees said the Belmont runner’s knee had first hit the ground.

A good kickoff return by Watertown was negated by a 15-yard personal foul penalty, and Belmont’s defense stuffed the Raiders on three consecutive plays. On fourth down, Wagner used his basketball reach to block the Watertown punt, and Belmont recovered the ball on the Raiders 10-yard line. Two plays later, Jones scored on a 4-yard run with 6:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Belmont a 22-21 lead after missing the two-point conversion.

Watertown had the ball on the Belmont 45 and nearly lost the ball on a fumble and a near interception. On fourth down and 4 yards at the 38, Smith’s pass was a poor one, and Belmont took over on downs with 3:56 to play and up by a point.

A Christofori sprint pass to Wagner and Deese run gave Belmont a first and ten at its 48-yard line with 2:56 remaining. It appeared Belmont had sealed the upset when Johnson sprinted to the Raiders 20-yard line with 2:39 left, but the Marauders were penalized for holding. Belmont punted with 1:39 left giving the Raiders the ball on its 19.

Some hard running by Smith and a timely pass to senior Tyler Poulin coupled with two near interceptions by Belmont where Watertown receivers had to play “defense” gave Kennelly the opportunity to play the hero of the day.

Watertown now leads the yearly contest 46-43-5.

Players and coaches were resolute in defeat, showing their disappointment but also congratulating each other for the season they completed.

“The big statement of this game would have been winning it. But we’re proud of what we accomplished. This was a program with one win in two seasons, and now we’ve won seven in two [years] and competitive in all but two games this season,” Kuman said.

“The only emotion I have right now is pride. I’m proud how the kids played this year, how the coaches led the players. We’re proud where we are and really proud of what we did,” he said.

Sports: Belmont Football Falls Just Short to Masco in Home Finale, 20-17

November 15, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Joe Shaughnessy catches an eight-yard pass from Cal Christofori for a touchdown against Masco.

For the third time this season, Belmont High School’s football team came close, really close, to pulling out a fourth quarter comeback in front of the Harris Field home crowd.

But just like games against Woburn and Lexington, the Marauders could not convert late game critical short third and fourth down plays against visiting Masconomet Regional High School and fell, 20-17, to the Chieftans in the final home game of the season on Friday, Nov. 13.

“Tough game because we had a couple of great opportunities late to take the lead,” said Yann Kuman, Belmont’s head coach after the game.

After making a series of stops on defense, including a blocked fourth-down pass by senior Justin Wagner with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter to give Belmont the ball on the Marauders’ 8 yard line, Belmont held the momentum after QB Cal Christofori threw three completions to senior wide receivers Trey Butler (two catches for 11 and 13 yards) and Joe Shaughnessy. An eight-yard run by injured running back Mahki Johnson put the ball on Belmont’s 47 yard line with a little less than two minutes remaining.

But the final drive stalled on Masco’s 48 as a pair of runs and two passes, including an attempt to Butler on fourth and five, could only gain five yards.

Belmont began the game allowing the Chieftains to march down field uncontested in just under two minutes to take the lead, 6-0, on a 20 yard run by running back Dan Strow, the first of his three TDs.

“Our biggest thing is coming out the gate with with some urgency and some speed. If we do that this is a very different game. That first drive we decided they were just going to walk down the field and score. There was very little we can do to keep us in ball games when that is our first drive,” said Kuman.

Belmont came back with a steady diet of running plays with Johnson and junior Ben Jones and a 14-yard pass from Christofori to Wagner to put the ball on Masco’s 8 yard line for Christofori hit a diving Shaughnessy at the plyon to give Belmont a 7-6 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Despite big stops by Butler and Hasset, Belmont could not make a fourth down stop and soon Strow dove in for his and Masco’s second touchdown of the half, and a 12-7 lead as Noonan stopped the Chieftain’s running back on the two-point c0nversion.

After Christofori was intercepted by Masco on its 10 yard line, Belmont’s defense stepped it up, holding the Chieftains to no yards on three plays before Butler deflected the subsequant punt to give Belmont the ball on the 17. But the Marauder offense stalled which saw kicker Aiden Cadogan make a 30-yard field goal to cut the lead to 12-10 at the half.

After holding Belmont on its first drive of the second half, Masco took six minutes off the clock as it ran the ball effectivley ending with Strow running in from five yards out with three minutes remaining in the third. The two-point PAT was successful and gave the Chieftains a 20-10 lead.

Belmont went back to the Johnson/Jones running combination before Christofori scrambled and found Jones in the flats with a swing pass and the junior sprinted 30 yards to the Masco 6. Jones would score at 8:29 remaining to cut the lead to 20-17.

The Marauders halted Masco at midfield forcing a punt. But a missed handoff and a great defensive play forced Belmont to punt with 3:49 to go. That’s when Belmont D stood tall leading to the final drive.

Kuman said preparation for the annual Thanksgiving Day game, at Watertown this year, in 13 days, is to play with urgency and pace against the Raiders which lost a sectional final against Stoneham.

“That will be a focus for us going into Watertown is coming out of the game fast with commitment,” said Kuman.

Sports: Belmont Football Down Somerville Behind 4 TDs by Johnson

November 7, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Makhi Johnson on his 70-yard touchdown run Friday night.

Senior running back Makhi Johnson scored four touchdowns and gained 280 yards to lead a balanced rushing attack featuring the return of fellow back junior Ben Jones as Belmont High School Football (4-5) won back-to-back games for the first time this season to defeat Somerville High School, 38-28, on Friday night, Nov. 6 at Somerville’s Dilboy Stadium.

Belmont is expected to host Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School (1-8) at Harris Field on Friday, Nov. 13. A final decision will be made early in the week.

“I thought our guys did a great job staying within themselves and continue to play football,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin, pointing out the running tandem of Johnson and Jones, “when they are both healthy and together are really a great combination of backs.”

While Johnson was a threat at breaking long runs, scoring on runs of 66 and 70 yards, Jones would power into the middle of the line to grab three to ten yards at a time.

“When [Johnson] has [Jones] as a compliment, and they can trade out the way they did today, our offense gains another dimension, which is nice,” said Kumin.

Belmont took charge on offense and defense from the start of the game against Somerville (1-8). After holding the Highlanders to a single first down to start the game, the Marauders scored on its fourth play as Johnson swept down right sideline 66 yards for the first of his quartet of touchdowns at 6:16 of the first.

On Belmont’s second possession, Belmont’s QB Cal Christofori hooked up with senior wide receiver Trey Butler for eight yards on a fourth down and six yards to the Somerville 24 yard line. A facemask personal foul placed the ball on the 12 before Johnson scored on a one-yard run early in the second quarter.

Senior Grant Gilbert, who made several tackles in the backfield, had the individual play of the game by hustling downfield on kickoff coverage and causing a fumble and recovery that directly led to Belmont’s third touchdown, a 15-yard run up the middle by Johnson.

After Somerville had driven the field on a five-minute drive to score, Johnson took a pitch from Christofori and outran the Highlander team down the right sideline for a 70 yard TD, which gave Belmont a 28-6 lead at the half.

The Marauder took the second half kickoff and using Johnson and Jones as battering rams set up Christofori’s pass to senior wide receiver Joe Shaunnessey for a 30-yard touchdown and a 35-6 lead.

While Belmont connected on a field goal by sophomore Aidan Cadogan, they were outscored by Somerville 21 to 10 in the half.

“One of the things we need to focus on in our progression as a team is putting teams away,”

“When we have a three, four touchdown lead we have to learn how to lock it down on defense to enable to keep our advantage,” he said.

Still, Kuman was pleased with the defense on the night.

“We made some big defensive stops when we needed to,” said Kuman, including “sniffing out” a screen pass that linebacker Justin Wagner intercepted late in the fourth quarter.

With one game before the Thanksgiving game against Watertown (6-3) – which will be playing in the Div. 4 Northeast Sectional finals, next week against Stoneham – Kumin is looking to be at 500 with five wins against five losses “when it comes to Turkey Day. We want to come to that game on a high.”

Sports: Johnson’s 368 yards, 5 TDs Leads Belmont by Boston Latin, 50-20

October 31, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont High’s Mekhai Johnson.

Belmont High School senior Mekhai Johnson solidified his place as one of the premier running backs in the state with a career highlight performance of 368 yards and five rushing touchdowns to lead the Marauders to a 50-20 win over host Boston Latin at Boston’s White Stadium in Boston.

Under the Friday night lights, Johnson tore through the Wolfpack defense for touchdown runs of 69, 8, 32, 22 and 24, to power Belmont to its third win of the season (3-5), matching the number of victories the Marauders had last season.

Johnson’s rush total is likely a new school one-game record while his 106 points on 17 rushing touchdowns are second only to Plymouth North’s Myles Uva’s 22 TDs and 132 points.

Johnson scored this first four TDs in between two Latin scores, to lead the Marauders to a 27-14 lead at halftime. Belmont kept the ball in Johnson’s hands and one the ground overall as the Marauders marched for 485 team rushing yards as junior QB Cal Christofori scored from a yard out to put the game out of reach.

Belmont finished off the scoring with a Ben Jones 15-yard scamper and a 32-yard field goal from Aiden Codgan.

Next Friday, Belmont will travel to Somerville to take on the Highlanders, which coincidently lost its game 50-20 to Masconomet Regional.

Sports: Belmont Football Defeat Winchester, 35-28, Behind Johnson’s 4 TDs [VIDEO]

October 18, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont High Mekhai Johnson literally carrying defenders on his run against Winchester.

Belmont High’s Mekhai Johnson proved this weekend once again why he’s one of the best running backs in MIAA Division 3 as the senior scored four touchdowns while rushing for a career-high 250 yards to lead the Marauders past host Winchester, 35-28, on a crisp, sunny Saturday morning, Oct. 17.

The win was Belmont’s first Middlesex League victory in more than three years.

“The offensive line opened a lot of holes up. Then when [I] got past the line of scrimmage on the second level, I just took off,” said Johnson, who ran for touchdowns of 3, 36, 80 and 23 yards.

(Video courtesy Marauders Media)

Johnson’s running effectiveness allowed junior quarterback Cal Christofori to find his senior receiving corp of Joseph Shaughnessy, Justin Wagner and Grant Gilbert on critical long yardage downs.

“Everybody just coming up and making big plays at big moments,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin, who saw his team’s record go to 2-4.

“We wanted to establish the run because then we knew we could get things going with Joe Shaughnessy … and we were excited about what he did for us catching a huge touchdown in the [fourth] quarter,” Kumin said.

“This was a great Middlesex League win,” he said.

It was an eight-yard pass from Christofori to Shaughnessy that put Belmont up 35-21 with 3:12 remaining in the game that proved the game winner as Winchester came back to score its touchdown in just over a minute to cut the margin to 35-28.

The game showcased Belmont at its best, controlling the ball and demonstrating a defense that did not allow a single same breaking run or pass from the Sachems.

Belmont took the opening kickoff and took nine minutes off the clock to travel 72 yards downfield to set up Johnson’s first score, the three-yard run off left tackle. The big plays were a pair of Christofori to Shaughnessy hook-ups for 12 and 21 yards, the last one coming on a fourth down and 4 at the 28. The missed point after gave Belmont a 6-0 lead.

The Marauder defense stepped up on Winchester’s first drive as junior defensive back Kevin Martin intercepted sophomore QB Liam Fitzpatrick’s pass on Belmont’s 25-yard line. On the next play, Gilbert took a Christofori pass and slipped by two Winchester defenders to rumble 39 yards to the Winchester 25. Two plays later, Johnson took a pitch and ran right 36 yards to give Belmont a 13-0 lead.

Belmont’s first offensive play after Winchester scored on a Fitzpatrick pass, Johnson took a handoff and steamrolled through a hole made by his offensive line to outrun untouched by the Sachem defense for 80 yards to give the Marauders a 20-7 lead with 4 minutes remaining in the first half.

But Winchester got within 6 points as they scored with 31 seconds left in the second quarter.

Early in the third quarter, just as it appeared that Belmont’s improving defense was ready to stop Winchester on a fourth down play, Fitzpatrick’s deflected pass landed into the hands of receiver Sam Curtin who skipped 33-yards for the touchdown, giving Winchester the lead 21-20.

But Kumin said after the Sachem touchdown, the team did not allow the fluck play alter its positive approach to the game.

“It’s a testament to our players that they shook it off,” said Kumin.

Back on offense, Belmont converted a fourth and one yard (on Christofori’s two-yard plunge) before Johnson securing his fourth touchdown on the 38-yard rumble down the right side with 3 minutes remaining in the third. Christofori’s found Gilbert on the two-point conversion to give Belmont a 28-21 lead.

Belmont’s defense now stepped up behind the big men in the middle – led by Justin Aroyan and Lowell Haska – who plugged the running lanes and forced Fitzpatrick to hurry his throws, forcing Winchester to punt on Belmont’s 40 with 10 minutes left in the game.

“We told the defense they had to step up as we did against Woburn (a hard-fought 18-15 loss) rallying to the football and make tackles. And we did that making a couple of big stops, a big interception from Martin.”

Belmont would give the ball back to Winchester, but the Sachems could not make first down. The Marauders benefited from a weak Sachems’ punt to start its game-winning drive at the 43. The big play in the drive was Wagner’s catch from Christofori for 15 yards on a third and 12 from the 45, which prompted the big receiver to give a “Gronk” first down pose.

Kumin had high praise for the offensive line that had its hands full last week against Reading.

“We are starting three sophomores right in the middle (the guards and center) in Andrew Mazzone, Dennis Crowley, and Ryan Noone. We are excited about those guys on the interior line with Haska and Chris Piccione stepping up and taking care of business as bookend tackles.”

“O-linemen are always a little bit weird, and those five guys are definitely that. But they’re weird together and weird in the right way,” he said.

Belmont returns to Harris Field on Friday when the welcome Lexington which is seeking its first win of the season.

Sports: Belmont Football Falls to Reading as Rockets’ Ugly Tactics and Behavior Dominate

October 10, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker 10 Comments

Photo:

According to the mission statement of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governing body for high school sports, says “[t]he ideals of good sportsmanship, ethical behavior, and integrity should encompass all interscholastic athletics in our community.

“Our athletic fields should be the laboratories to produce good sports who reflect “fair play” in every area of life,” says the statement.

Under the Friday Night Lights in Belmont, the small number of fans who gutted out the torrid of rain witnessed a once proud program fail those ideals that high school sports are based on.

The Harris Field scoreboard indicated Reading Memorial scored 56 points and held host Belmont scoreless, Oct. 9. But at the end of the game, Reading Memorial football walked off the field defeated, having lost the respect of those who witnessed an utter lack of sportsmanship, discipline and accountability from the Reading coaching staff and many players.

Rather than with class, Reading’s performance on Friday left veteran gridiron observers speechless with a display of crass behavior and ugliness.

“Reading is a good football team, and we didn’t play our best as evident by the scoreboard,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Yann Kumin.

“But we kept our composure in a game that was … ” said Kumin, pausing to find the words.

“I’ll just say I was proud of our guys for keeping their composure and keeping their head and continuing to work,” said Kumin.

Belmont (1-3) came into the match with 3-1 Reading (ranked #11 by the Boston Herald, #10 in the Boston Globe poll) knowing it was going to be a struggle to stay with a team seeking a trip to the Division 2 Super Bowl.

The level of superior play was evident quickly in the first three possessions as Reading’s Will Connery ran the opening kickoff 85-yards for a touchdown, Belmont offense went three-and-out after gaining two yards, before Reading quickly stormed down the field as the Rocket’s D’Aundray Burcy scampered 25-yards for Reading’s second touchdown in the first 7 minutes of the game.

The question requiring an answer is why a program holding aces against an opponent would resort to violent cheap shots and common vulgarity throughout the game?

It came from the constant cursing from Reading’s coaches (head coach John Fiore and his assistants) in the first half – heard across the field to the opposite grandstand and on the Belmont sideline – to apparent deliberate attempts at excessive physical infractions against key Belmont players including quarterback Cal Christofori, running back Mekhai Johnson and punter Lowell Haska (Reading was flagged throughout the game for misconduct) culminating in a spearing penalty by a Reading linebacker who launched himself head first into a prone and vulnerable Christofori.

That final penalty, which is considered extremely dangerous, resulted in the immediate removal of offending player from the game. There was no reaction from the Reading coaches.

“Third time in 45 years,” said the referee of the call, as he shook his head.

While Belmont had a few memorial moments – three 15 yard plus runs by Johnson, Haska’s 50 yard punts and an apparent touchdown pass from Christofori to Joe Shaughnessy that was questionably ruled out of bounds – the game was never in doubt in the favor of Reading after going into the half 42-0.

Yet constant trash talking and late hits continued until the final minutes when both teams sent in their second squads.

Even in victory, Reading’s baseness came to the fore. During the traditional handshake between players at game’s end, Reading players cursed at their Belmont opponents, who were told by their coaches not to respond.

When approached by a Reading assistant coach after the players encounter, Kumin would only express his private disappointment how the game was conducted by the players and coaches.

Belmont Athletic Director James Davis, who attended the game on the Belmont sidelines, said he made a phone call after the game to his counterpart, Reading Athletic Director Tom Zaya, to discuss the spearing penalty and “the game.”

While not willing to discuss the conversation, Davis said Belmont would continue to approach sports with a positive attitude.

“The culture that’s being established within not just our football but all our sports programs is such that we rise above those types of things. It’s something that we pride ourselves on, and I think it’s indicative why we’ve been recognized last year on the sportsmanship honor roll for not having a single player disqualified throughout the school year. That’s important to us,” said Davis.

With no natural rivalry between the teams in football, the question for the unwarranted hostility from a superior team appears rooted in Reading’s drive to a Super Bowl placement that requires them to defeat weaker opponents by ever greater scores.

When asked the reason for Readings animosity toward Belmont, Kumin could not explain the myriad examples of abhorrent actions and behavior from Reading.

“We’re not concerned with their program, I’m more concerned with our program. That’s the message that we preach with our kids. I’m just happy that our guys continued to fight, continue to try and execute reps and showed class and pride in everything they did. That’s the Marauder Way, which we preach from start to finish,” he said.

“I told the team, I’d rather be at the losing end of a 56-0 score with these guys then be over there,” said Kumin, nodding over to the Reading sideline.

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