The traditional mystery of Halloween night had no part in the Rebels decisive victory Friday night at Braintree. The Rebels’ monster offense put 48 points on the board with five touchdowns by junior Ryan Izzo and touchdowns by senior Captain Chris Cameron and senior T.J. Kelliher. Despite a few miscues, the Rebel defense was solid, preventing Braintree from ever really getting into the game. Vinnie Lee haunted Braintree’s quarterback throughout the game, reeling in three interceptions.
Braintree’s fright night began with a Lee interception. The Rebel offense then quickly put six on the board with an Izzo run to the end zone from thirty yards out. After the kickoff the terror continued for the Wamps, who fumbled the ball into the scrabbling hands of senior Matt Sweet. The Rebels then slammed the mistake home with a touchdown through the air to Izzo. The offensive line continuously allowed junior quarterback Sonny Mastromatteo plenty of time to throw. “The O-line did play very well, but we always have room for improvement” explained senior Captain Adam Riegel, who anchors the center of the line. Mastromatteo treated his receivers to a great night passing, being on target on the majority of his throws.
Following the kickoff, the Wamp offense made threatening strides down the field, but eventually yielded to a monstrous onslaught of Walpole defenders that would make any offense shake in their boots. Impact players included senior Captain Mitch Savini, senior Captain Chris Cameron, and junior Nick Romaine. On the subsequent two drives by the Rebel offense, touchdowns were scored by Cameron on a pass from Mastromatteo, and on an 80-yard run by Izzo, making the score 27-0. Well in control going into the half, the Rebels decided to take a knee to finish up the clock. Stunning the team, coaches and crowd, the Rebels fumbled the snap, with Braintree recovering. Scoring on the recovery kept the Rebel ego in check, and provoked a halftime speech that warned the Rebels not to let their guard down.
After the half, the Halloween haunting continued with Mastramatteo orchestrating a drive which resulted in a touchdown pass to TJ Kelliher to make the score 34-7. “[Mastromatteo] really managed the game well like he always does” commented senior Captain Adam Riegel. Despite the solid play of the Rebel defense, small miscues allowed two more scores to be put on the board by Braintree, bringing the score to 34-21. The Rebel offense and Izzo quickly responded with two touchdowns of their own, cementing the “W”.
Even though Rebel football players were not allowed to go out for candy on the chilly October night, many would agree with senior Captain Adam Riegel when he explained that “a trip to the superbowl this year is treat enough for us”.
