The Rebels lost their first round playoff game against the Stoughton Black Knights by a score of 21-20 in a heartbreaker this past Friday at Turco Field. A back and forth game, there was no clear winner until the final whistle blew.
The biggest play of the game was Nate Porack’s catch that was ruled incomplete because he stepped out of bounds prior to touching the ball. Porack made an amazing diving catch that would’ve ultimately won the game for the Rebels, putting them up a score with only a few minutes remaining. The incompletion deflated the Rebels as they felt they had scored the go-ahead touchdown that would ultimately lead them to the next round of the playoffs.
The Rebels mounted an impressive rushing attack against the Black Knights as running back Steve Cuqua made his return this week coming off a high ankle sprain.
“It felt good to be back playing with my team. I was really excited to play after sitting out so long,” said Cuqua in regards to his return. Cuqua had himself a game (121 yards, 2 TD’s) as he combined with Lovey Salvant (104 yards, 1 TD) for 225 yards on the ground.
Stoughton’s running backs matched the impressive offensive performances of Cuqua and Salvant as the Rebel defense struggled at times to contain their explosive Wing-T offense.
“Their backs were big and fast and we had some difficulty containing them early on in the game but our coaches made an adjustment and we responded well to it,” said senior linebacker Kevin O’Leary.
The Rebels’ hopes of reaching Gillette stadium to play in the Division 3 State Championship games were dashed after the loss to the Black Knights. Although they are no longer in title contention the Rebels season is not over, they still have games against Bishop Feehan, Hopkinton, and the Thanksgiving Day game against Weymouth.
This Friday, the Rebels travel to Bishop Feehan to play the Shamrocks at 7:00. The two teams have a good history between them as Feehan beat the Rebels in the 2007 Super Bowl, and the Rebels eliminated the Shamrocks from the playoffs last year.
