RallyNorth.net

Sat, Sep 08, 2007 12:00 PM @ Masconomet

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Christ the King	0	6	0	7	13
Masconomet	7	6	7	7	27

Masconomet football team beats heat, Christ the King of New York

Saturday, September, 08 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

BEVERLY | If the temperature really reached the mid-90s Saturday afternoon, then there's no question it was triple-digit heat bouncing off the rubbery field turf at Endicott College when the Masconomet football team entertained Christ the King High School of New York in each teams' season opener.

Calf cramps and making sure water bottles were constantly filled were just a couple of the additional headaches brought on by the oppressive heat. Still, even that didn't spoil Christ the King's trip to the North Shore.

The final score? Well, that's a different story.

Masconomet used its superior depth to wear down their visitors from New York in a 27-13 win.

Christ the King came from New York along with Holy Cross High School for a doubleheader with the Chieftains and Mansfield, respectively. Masconomet coach Jim Pugh helped set up this unusual opener with the help of his brother, Tom Pugh, the head coach at Holy Cross.

Christ the King may have left Massachusetts with a blemish on its record, but the experience was priceless.

"My first year here we played a team up in Rockland County, which is about 45 minutes away | and that's a trek for us," Christ the King coach Kevin Kelly said. "This was our first game out of state, so it was a good experience. A lot of these kids don't leave the city. It was a good chance for them to see what it's like in other parts of the country."

With the combination of sun, heat, and the Atlantic Ocean looking on from the distance, Beverly could have been mistaken for an island destination by the visitors.

Vacationing may be perfect for those conditions, but playing football? Not so much.

Masconomet's Evan Bunker and Andrew Barry suffered through calf cramps for the majority of the second half, and senior captain T.C. Mannetta spent the majority of the game in the back of an ambulance getting treated for dehydration.

"That's going to happen anytime you play on a day like this," Pugh said. "Our depth was very important. Some young kids that we didn't expect much from really stepped up and played well."

Christ the King did a good job avoiding the cramping that plagued Masco, but the heat | and the Chieftains' depth | wore them down.

"We have a roster of about 30 guys that are healthy right now," Kelly said. "You could see as the game went on it (the heat) took its toll on us."

Masco used six different ballcarriers and constantly rotated linemen in and out.

Sophomore Evan Bunker ran for 92 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes for 54 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown catch on a tipped ball that gave the Chieftains a 13-7 lead just before halftime. Clay Cleveland added 46 rushing yards and 26 yards receiving with one touchdown. Chris Splinter also looked good for Masco, making his quarterback debut as a sophomore. Splinter ran for 33 yards and a touchdown and completed 7-of-12 passes for 89 yards and two TD strikes.

After falling behind just before halftime on Bunker's touchdown reception, Christ the King coughed up the ball in its own territory to start the second half. Masco went 44 yards in six plays, capped by Splinter's 7-yard run for a 20-6 advantage.

Christ the King, powered by senior quarterback Joe Nuss, wouldn't go away. Nuss (8 for 19, 177 yards, 2 TDs) hit Danny Manetta on a 9-yard curl to make it a one possession game early in the fourth quarter, but Masco simply had fresher legs down the stretch.

Mike Fauci broke through for an 11-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to seal it for Masco.

"We knew Masco was a good football program, and that's what we wanted. We wanted a challenge," Kelly said. "We knew the temperature was going to be pretty hot. We just stressed to the kids to drink a lot of water and hydrate themselves. We just got a little fatigued."