Sports: Football Losses at Home, But Gains in Stature

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Photo: Belmont running back Mekhai Johnson

Belmont High School Football Head Coach Yann Kuman stood before his team moments after the Marauders found themselves on the short end of an 18-15 score against the Woburn High Tanners under the Friday night lights, Oct. 2.

“There’re no words to express how proud I am of this team right now,” said Kuman, after the team’s hard-fought encounter with the experienced Middlesex League squad.

“I say to you what I said to the guys in the huddle, you found your spot tonight. [Woburn] ran you out of the ballpark last year. You guys have more fight and more courage and more pride in what you are as football players and as men then any team I have been privileged to coach,” he said to the team.

In a near-complete turnaround in pose and technique from the previous week’s disappointing performance at Arlington, Belmont stayed with the Tanners for the entire game and had the ball with less than three minutes in the game before giving up the ball near mid-field.

“We’re just one better call, one better block, one better tackle away from a different outcome. There are a lot of these little individual moments that if it goes the other way, we are winning,” said Kumin.

The big takeaway from the game was the improvement from Belmont’s defensive front seven. Led by linemen Justin Aroyan and Lowell Haska, the defense plugged up the middle of the field, making life miserable for Woburn’s running back Brandon Moscat.

The defense forced the Tanners on a three-and-out on its first series before giving up a Hail Mary 25-yard TD pass on fourth down and 10 yards from Tanner QB Tim Concannon midway through the second quarter to give the Tanners a 6-0 lead.

The score came after Belmont held the ball for nearly 10 minutes on its first possession behind the running of Ben Jones and Marauder star senior Mekhai Johnson, who carried the ball 19 times for 165 yards. The 15 play, 59-yard drive stalled at Woburn’s 30-yard line but demonstrated a confidence in the offensive line and the running game.

“I thought the offensive line really came out to play today and did a great job,” said Kumin.

After the Woburn score, Belmont took the ball and behind Johnson’s running and critical passes from Belmont QB Cal Christofori to receivers Trey Butler (6 yards) and Joe Shaughnessy (11 yards), the Marauders drove the ball 54 yards to score on a Johnson one-yard run around the left side, taking a 7-6 lead into the half.

With Jones out of the game since the second quarter, Johnson was the man as he carried the ball six consecutive times to start the third quarter before Belmont was forced to punt.

Woburn appeared ready to give the ball right back as it faced a second down and 17 from its 13-yard line. But a facemask penalty and its ability to make a series of third-down plays allowed the Tanners to march down the field to take the lead, 12-7, on a Moscat one-yard run a minute into the fourth quarter.

Woburn was back on the march a minute later after a Belmont three-and-out that included a 29 yard Moscat run to the Belmont 19. A few plays later, Concannon snuck the ball over the goal line to give the Tanners an 18-7 lead with 5:47 left in the game.

But on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson uncorked an eye-popping scamper around left end and sprinted 74 yards for the TD, his third 70-plus yard touchdown run for the season, cutting the lead to 18-15.

Woburn’s attempt to seal the win by running the ball and taking time off the clock was turned on its head as Aroyan stripped the ball from Moscat and Belmont recovered the ball at their 36 yard line with 2:30 seconds remaining in the game.

On a third and two from the 44-yard line, Christofori’s pass to Rob Aiello was knocked out of the receiver’s hands by a vicious, but legal hit at the Woburn 45 yard line. After waiting for five minutes before resuming play, Belmont’s fourth down play didn’t make it past the 46-yard line. Woburn was able to take the time down to a few seconds before giving it back to the Marauders, effectively ending the game.

For Kumin, the game showed the best of his team as it continues to improve in the tough Middlesex League.

“That was a great football game,” a physically exhausted Kumin said.

“I thought our defense found itself a bit. Obviously, [Woburn] is a team that can do some things and I thought we shut them down pretty well. They squeaked out of here with a three-point victory. We were one play away on that last drive from making it really interesting.”

Next up for Belmont is Reading High at Harris Field on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

Sports: Belmont High Take Steps Back in Loss to Arlington, 42-14

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Photo: Belmont running back Ben Jones.

Belmont High School’s head football coach Yann Kumin was disconsolate crossing the Arlington High School football field after his team suffered a 42-14 drubbing by the host SpyPonders on Friday night, Sept. 25.

“We lost to them by the same score last year, and I know we can be competitive with this team,” said Kumin, whose squad drops to 1-2.

“We couldn’t do the little things, and we did not take advantage of our opportunities,” Kumin told the Belmontonian after a night of frustration that the program has not progressed as the coaching staff had hoped. 

Coming off an emotional victory the previous Friday – a final-minute win over Medford – and a solid week of practice, Belmont came to Arlington seeking to replicate the run/pass offense that proved to be a recipe for success for the Marauders.

But from the start, Belmont could not find a rhythm on either side of the ball. Last week’s star performer, senior running back Mekhai Johnson, was never the explosive factor as he was against Medford when he gained more than 200 yards rushing.                                                                     

On its second possession, the Marauders fumbled the ball deep in its end as the SpyPonder pounced the miscue and soon found itself in the end zone for a 7-0 at 1:31 in the first quarter. Belmont’s next sequence of plays told the glum tale of the night’s proceedings; the kickoff return went for negative yards as Belmont started from its 5-yard line. The Marauders’ offense stalled on three plays, and the subsequent punt traveled only 20 yards. Arlington capitalized by going 24 yards in six minutes to score its second TD. A third SpyPonder touchdown quickly pegged Belmont with a 21-0 deficit with less than two minutes remaining in the half.

With time running out in the half, Belmont turned to junior QB Cal Christofori who engineered an impressive 10 play, 80 yard drive with passes to junior receiver Trey Butler and seniors Justin Wagner and Joe Shaughnessy before dumping the ball to Johnson in the flat who scampered 21-yards in for the touchdown with 38.8 seconds remaining to cut the lead to

But on the subsequent kickoff, Arlington sophomore Alijah Woods took the ball 80 yards down the left sideline for a momentum killing touchdown, to up the halftime lead to 21, 28-7. 

With Arlington threatening early in the third quarter, the Marauder defense recovered a fumble as Arlington running back Patrick Conroy attempted to stretch the ball into the end zone. But two plays later, Christofori’s pass was intercepted by defensive back Abel Negussie, who ran it into the end zone for a “pick 6” touchdown and an insurmountable 35-7 lead.

Johnson would score on a one-yard TD to give him five touchdowns in the past two games.

The Marauders will be back home on Friday, Oct. 2 when they greet 1-2 Woburn High School at Harris Field.

 

 

Sports: Belmont Defeats Medford in Final Minute, 31-28, to Go To 1-1

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Photo: Joe Shaughnessy celebrating the winning touchdown in the 31-28 victory over Medford.

Belmont senior wide receiver Joe Shaughnessy pulled in an 19-yard over-the-shoulder pass from junior QB Cal Christofori with 45 seconds left in the game to give the visiting Marauders an emotional 31-28 victory over Medford under the Friday night lights at Hormel Stadium, Sept. 18. 

“I knew I was going to catch it. I knew I had it,” said Shaughnessy of the pass the receiver caught over a defender just in bounds. “I just had to go up and catch it; Cal made a great throw. There was no way we were going to lose this.” 

The game, which had eight lead changes, came down to Belmont’s final drive as Christofori hit Shaughnessy twice before the game-winning pitch. 

“It was a minute left, and we had Shaughnessy who’s 6’4″ on the go pattern, so I just went for it. There was nothing to lose here, so I just threw it up for a big play,” said Christofori. 

“Every win is important. It wasn’t the way we wanted it since we thought we could push this team. We aren’t necessarily pleased with the result or how we got there, but a win is a win,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin. It is the first regular-season victory for Belmont (1-1) in two years and the second over Medford in as many years.

The last-minute dramatics was made possible by a break-out performance by senior running back Mekhai Johnson who rushed for 238 yards and scored three touchdowns (80, 63 and 1 yards) to earn one of the “Stars of the Week” by the Boston Herald. 

“We wanted to get [Johnson] going last week but for a lot of reasons we couldn’t do it,” said Kumin. 

“We felt that we could run the ball against this team, and we talked a lot this week about running downhill and hard and he did that for us. We’re about as proud of him as you can be,” he said.

Sick with a sinus infection that required him to visit the hospital Wednesday, Johnson said he was still “throwing up dinosaurs” during the game. But it didn’t hamper his day running that matches 

“I’m humbled, that’s all I can say,” said Johnson. 

While the TD pass and Johnson’s running were significant, the game’s biggest moment came when Kumin decided to punt with 4:44 left in the game and relied on the Marauder defense to halt the Mustang offense that was unstoppable in the second half.

But the defense held Medford to zero yards on three plays and got the ball back with 1:50 remaining in the game, setting up the final drive. 

The game started with the Marauders in a hole as Medford took the opening kickoff for a touchdown to go up 8-0. But Johnson cut the lead to two with his 80-yard romp in the first offensive series. 

Belmont took the lead through a 25-yard field goal by Aidan Cadogan midway through the second quarter. But Medford would score on a pass from QB Ben Antonie to Myles Olivier to take a 14-9 lead at half time.

The Marauders stuck to the ground in the third quarter, using Johnson and backfield partner Ben Jones to go 67-yards in seven and a half minutes to score from the one via Johnson to lead 16-14. 

Medford quickly countered through the air to go up 22-16 with 54 second left, but it was Johnson again who took control, romping 63 yards with 0.1 seconds left in the quarter to regain the lead at 23-22. 

The Mustangs would take their final lead, 28-23, as the Antoine to Olivier combo connected. Then came the heroics. 

”For us, it’s a big deal,” Kumin told the Belmontonian about the win.

“It’s a big victory for us since it’s a gratification of what we preach; don’t think about the end of the game or what the scoreboard says, just do your job each and every single play and come down on that last drive and execute … it’s football at its best,” said Kumin. 

Belmont will travel to Arlington to meet the SpyPonders on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. 

Sports: Belmont Stumbles to Stoneham, 28-14, in Football Opener

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Photo: Belmont senior Robbie Aiello hauling in a Cal Christofori pass for the touchdown vs. Stoneham. 

“Damn,” said Head Coach Yann Kumin as his Belmont High School Football team shook hands with their Stoneham counterparts after the visiting Spartans (1-0) handed the Marauders an opening game defeat, 28-14, at Belmont’s Harris Field under the Friday Night Lights, Sept. 11.

“We coulc beat that team,” Kumin told Belmont Athletic Director Jim Davis as he walked to huddle with his staff and players.

With a year of Kumin’s active and professional coaching under their belts and working off a solid pre-season – including handling a Waltham team in a scrimmage six days earlier – many viewed the game under the lights with a motivated crowd in the stands cheering them on against Stoneham as the right platform to show the improved and updated version 2.0 of the Marauders during the game.

Yet Belmont offense could not sustain drives, and the Marauder defense appeared overmatched by the bigger and talented Stoneham linemen that allowed the Spartan’s Evan Taylor to collect 222 yards rushing and three TDs – most right up the middle of the line – while keeping possession for long stretches. 

“They have a big senior offensive front and we knew that going in. They established the inside run against our defense and it took us until the second half for us to stop them,” said Kumin. 

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While Stoneham’s running game behind Taylor was active, the Marauders’ backs Ben Jones and Mekhai Johnson along with big senior tight end Justin Wagner never got started as the offense could only manage a handful of first downs and only one sustained drive. 

“We ran them early and just weren’t able to get the run game going that way we wanted to,” said Kumin. 

Belmont’s most efficient offensive weapon was the arm of junior Quarterback Cal Christofori, who pitched a pair of long passes – 74 and 47 yards – that hit their marks leading to Belmont’s touchdowns. 

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After a quick four downs in which Belmont turned over the ball on downs to start the game, the Spartans kept it simple, head down field behind its big line taking six minutes to travel 43 yards where Spartan QB Brandon Cann scored from the two-yard line with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

Belmont would tie it up at 7 when Christofori hit senior Robbie Aiello with a perfectly thrown pass to allow the senior wide receiver to walk into the end zone at the 2:22 mark.

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Stoneham responded quickly, going 69 yards in nine plays to take a 14-7 lead with 9 minutes remaining in the second quarter behind Chase’s first of three consecutive TDs.

Belmont would make its first first down on the subsequent drive but would stall on its 45-yard line.

The Spartans would then take nearly the entire five and a half minutes left in the half to move 76 yards on the ground and air as Chase took a sweep 23 yards before catching a 34 yard pass to get into Belmont’s red zone. Stoneham kept it on the ground to score with 38 seconds remaining to take a 21-7 lead into the half. 

After Belmont’s defense halted Stoneham for the first time in the game – but only after the Spartans’  held the ball for 8 minutes in the quarter – Christofori came out winging the ball, hitting senior Joe Shaughnessy for 10 and 9 yards as senior Trey Butler (the lacrosse standout playing his first high school football game) got the Marauders a first and 10 on the 34 yard line.

But the drive died and Stoneham took over at its 27 yard line with a minute-and-a-half remaining in the quarter, driving the field before scoring its fourth and Chase’s third with eight minutes left in the fourth to up the lead to 28-7.

Christofori hit senior wide receiver Grant Gilbert for nearly 50 yards to the Belmont 18 yard line. Johnson took the ball to the one and Christofori hit a diving Shaughnessy to finish the scoring with 6:18 remaining in the game. 

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“We have to go back to work on the grass field and fix our offense in order to take on Medford next week. But I’ll tell you, we’re a good team. There were moments of great responsiveness by this football team, some explosive offensive moments that we were able to move the ball well through the air and protect our quarterback. There we all positives for me.” 

“I see a really bright future. I’m not excitied to loss 28-14 but there are a ton of positives that I can take out of this game,” said Kumin. 

Sports: Building A Football Team in Belmont, Year Two [Video]

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Photo: A scene from Belmont Football 2015: First Look 2.0

Belmont High School senior James Neylon and Belmont resident and Dexter School student Lucas Tragos have completed the sequel to last year’s documentary on Belmont High School Football’s first year under a young and dynamic head coach Yann Kumin.
In Belmont Football 2015: First Look 2.0, the 20-minute film features the work put in by players and coaches this pre-season as well as takes you inside the homes of two of the team’s star players. 

Sports: Belmont Football Snowed In By Watertown, 34-13, on Thanksgiving

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Belmont High School’s Harris Field was covered with a sheet of snow with only the yard lines and the Marauder mascot dug out in preparation for the frigid start to the 94th annual Thanksgiving Day football match with Watertown High School.

And for most of the game, the boys from Belmont could not shake off their equally cold start as the Marauders did not have an answer to Watertown’s down-hill running and swarming defense which dominated the first half of the game.

Despite playing the Red Raiders even in the final 22 minutes, Belmont (3-8) lost for the third year in a row to the Red Raiders, 34-13, before the largest crowd of the season.

“That was a great Watertown team and we have no reason to hang our heads,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin, whose first year at the helm saw the Marauders break a winless streak at home and for total games while winning three games in a row, the longest winning streak in close to a decade.

A pair of plays highlighted Belmont’s turkey day just before and after halftime. After Belmont’s defense stopped Watertown on the Belmont’s 10 yard line on fourth down, senior co-captain and running back Max Jones darted over his favorite right side of the line – behind senior center and co-captain Austin Lutz, senior right tackle Deshawn Frederick and sophomore right guard Justin Arroyan – to outrun the Red Raiders’ defensive backs for a 90 yard touchdown with 2:14 left in the half.

The second big play was a 30-yard strike from sophomore quarterback Cal Christofori to senior wide receiver Jaehmar Paul in the end zone that cut the lead to two possessions at 28-13.

But on the subsequent kickoff, Watertown’s senior running back Austin Farry took Darren Chan’s kickoff and ran straight up the field for an 80 yard touchdown to increase the lead to 21 points after the extra point was missed.

Belmont found itself in a deep hole as Watertown used its strong running game led by Farry, sophomore running back Zachary Rimsa and senior quarterback Nick Giordano to run out to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Watertown defense focused its attention on stopping Jones who had an all-star caliber in the final three games with 10 touchdowns and nearly 600 yards rushing. Forced to pass due to Watertown’s emphasis on halting the run, Christofori was intercepted on his second attempt as Belmont trailed 7-0 leading to the Red Raiders’ second touchdown in the first quarter.

Belmont’s defense came to life as Watertown drove deep into the Marauders territory late in the second quarter. Led by good defensive plays by senior inside linebacker Marco Perrone and senior outside linebacker Bryce Christian as well as a diving tackle on fourth down by sophomore Ben Jones, Belmont took possession from Watertown. The next play was the scamper by Jones’ older brother.

But the defense could not stop Watertown from scoring the last of the four first half touchdowns just 70 seconds after Jones’ TD.

“We couldn’t stop [Watertown] when we got it down to 14 points despite grabbing the momentum,” said Kumin.

In the second quarter, Belmont’s defense were more assertive, including recovering a pair of fumbles. And while the offense did have a few flashes of inspiration – specifically junior running back Mekhai Johnson‘s nifty 20 yard run in the fourth quarter – Belmont tripped themselves up with an interception that was tipped three times before falling into the arms of a Watertown defensive back and being flagged for intentional grounding 30 seconds after the play after the Watertown coaching staff lobbied for that infraction to be called.

In the end, at the final huddle of the year after the game, Kumin praised his departing seniors briefly “because if I do it out here I’ll just start crying. I’m so damn proud of you.”

“I say it every week. They came to practice each day with purpose and dedication. They could have easily packed it in but they never did. I don’t know if I could have done it, but they did,” said Kumin.

For the new head coach and his staff, the next 10 days will be away from watching films, discussing strategy and motivating young players.

“But we’ll be in the weight room [on Monday, Dec. 8] preparing for next season,” he said.

The Game: Belmont Seeks Great Finish With Victory Over Watertown

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Make it four.

With a three-game winning streak and playing the annual Thanksgiving Game on its home field, the Belmont High School Football team and its young, energetic coaching staff are seeking to end the season with a win over a talented, playoff toughened Watertown High School team today, Thursday, Nov. 27.

The game, at Harris Field, will kick off at 10:15 a.m. Tickets are $8 at the gate.

Led by first-year head coach Yann Kumin, the Marauders (3-7) will take its strong running game behind senior running back Max Jones (10 TDs, more than 500 yards in the final three games) against the Red Raiders, who is led running backs senior Austin Farry and sophomore Zachary Rimsa. 

Hear a great interview with Kumin by Belmont Marauder Media.

 

Students: Get Your Turkey Game Tickets at the School Store

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Tickets are currently on sale at the Belmont High School’s School Store for the annual Belmont v. Watertown Thanksgiving Day Football game.

The school store is located in the Belmont High School Café. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. But be advised: the store will be closing at 10 a.m. on Wed. Nov. 26th

Pre-sale ticket prices are student $4, adults $6.

All tickets the day of the game are $8.

Sports: Belmont Football’s Streak Reaches 3 with 21-2 Win Over Boston Latin

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It’s official; Belmont High School Football is in the midst of a winning streak.

In the penultimate game of the 2014 season, senior running back Max Jones scored three touchdowns while the defense created four turnovers as the Marauders have run off three-consecutive victories by defeating visiting Boston Latin, 21-2, on Friday night, Nov. 14.

“I’m really proud at the defense who had the shut out [the two-point safety late in the fourth quarter was scored against the offense] because they stepped up as the offense was having a hard time moving forward,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin.

Kumin pointed to a play late in the fourth quarter as an example of the team’s ethos in the past three games. After a Wolfpack receiver caught a quick pass and ran by the sophomore defensive back Ben Jones towards an apparent touchdown. But Jones ran down the receiver and wrestled the ball from him at Belmont’s five-yard line, making the recovery.

“[Jones] could have given up on the play but he caught [the receiver] and stripped him. That’s what we talk about when we say ‘Next play, big play’,” said Kumin.

The game was hardly an easy go for the Marauders as Boston Latin’s defensive front line caused problems for Belmont’s running backs Jones and junior Mekhai Johnson.

In response, Kumin looked to the passing arm of sophomore quarterback Cal Christofori who went 12 for 25, going to juniors Justin Wagner and Robby Aiello and long-threat senior Jaehmar Paul who caught passes of 40 and 26 yards.

Belmont got on the board with three minutes left in the first quarter with Jones rushing 10 yards up the middle of the field in the end zone. The score occurred after junior defensive lineman Justin Arroyan caused and recovering a fumble.

Jones second TD was a 40 yard romp off the right side in the third quarter and a 60 yard sprint in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Jones, who scored three touchdowns in last week’s game against Salem, ran for 185 yards.

The Marauders are now off for nearly two weeks before the annual Thanksgiving Day game vs. Watertown.

“We’ll have time to rest up guys who are dinged up and target some areas that need to addressed before we meet a very good Watertown team,” said Kumin.

Sports: Fall Season Ends with a Bang on the Gridiron, Park and Pool

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It’s only appropriate with the return of frost to town that the fall athletic season is wrapping up. For Belmont, it does so with a bang as Belmont teams and individuals will be seeking glory on this final weekend.

• Belmont High School Football will be in search of something they have not accomplished in years; a winning streak. A victory over visiting Belmont Latin – the game gets underway tonight, Friday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at Harris Field – will give three wins in a row and give the Marauders a 3-7 record going into the traditional Thanksgiving Day game against Watertown High.

• Junior Leah Brams will be competing in her third consecutive Division 1 All-State Cross Country meet, held this year in historic Franklin Park in Boston on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. With temperatures not expected to break freezing, Brams will have, at least, a physiological advantage over the other runners: while they retreat indoors for the winter track season, Brams takes to the trails as one of the region’s most accomplished youth Nordic skiers.

• Just by past times posted this season, it is likely to be a big night for Belmont High School’s Girls’ Swimming and Diving Team Sunday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Harvard University’s Blodgett Pool as the Marauders seek to take the Div. 2 State Championship title. Belmont’s junior star Jessie Blake-West will be seeking to gain National High School All-American status in her favorite event, the 100-yard butterfly, and is the favorite to win state titles in the 200 individual medley and as a member of the 200 medley relay. With a great quartet of breaststroke swimmers, junior diver Thea Kelsey and young members who are getting faster with each meet, Head Coach Ev Crosscup could be heading for a dip into the pool at the end of the meet.