H.S. Football: Dighton-Rehoboth Dominates Norton

NORTON - Electric offense? Check.

Suffocating defense? Check.

Turnovers and special teams? Check and check.

The Dighton-Rehoboth Falcons dominated every facet of a football game Friday night on the road at Norton and walked away with a 31-0 victory.

“I’m very happy for the kids,” coach Dave Moura said after the game. “They did it tonight. They went out and got that win. They earned it.”

On a night when the Falcons did everything right, sophomore Brady Walsh soared above the pack, rushing for 210 yards and three touchdowns while adding an interception and a sack on the defensive side of the ball.

“He’s a very well-rounded football player and a great kid,” Moura said of Walsh. “It was great for him to break out tonight.”

The win gives D-R (3-7) some momentum heading into the annual Thanksgiving rivalry game against Seekonk (6-5). The Falcons and Warriors will meet a week from Thursday at 10 a.m. on Connolly Field at Seekonk High School.

REPORTERTODAY.COM MVP: Walsh was a wrecking ball on offense, scoring on runs of 74, 17 and 31 yards. His first touchdown came on D-R’s first possession when he took an inside handoff up the middle 74 yards for an early 6-0 lead. “The holes were open. My linemen did it for me,” Walsh said of center AJ Peltz, guards Evan Gleason and Adam Pereira, and tackles Ali Kabli and Sam Branco. “I just went up to my linemen and thanked them. They were great.”

RAMOS CAPITALIZES ON TURNOVER: Following Walsh’s first touchdown, the Lancers had a first down near midfield after completing two straight passes. On the first down run, Norton fumbled and D-R lineman Cam Kairet recovered it at the bottom of the pile. Falcons running back Jaren Ramos wasted no time in capitalizing on the turnover, getting a handoff on the first play and running 44 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown that extended D-R’s lead to 14-0.

PLENTY OF POINTS: Pereira drilled a 20-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 17-0 lead at halftime. Walsh scored on D-R’s first two possessions of the second half, the first for 17 yards on the same inside handoff play from the first quarter, and the second a 31-yard sprint down the right side with 2:16 left in the quarter. Moura credited offensive coordinator Kevin Gousie with getting the Falcons rolling on offense. “He’s done a lot with the offense,” Moura said. “I’m glad to see it starting to gel.”

D-R DEFENSE KEEPS NORTON ON LOCKDOWN: While the Falcons were scoring points, the defense was smothering Norton. The Lancers had nine possessions and ended seven of them with punts and two with turnovers (a Walsh interception and Kairet’s fumble recovery). When it was all set and done, Norton had just 53 yards of total offense (60 passing yards and -3 rushing yards). “Our defense is great,” said Walsh, who saw time at linebacker and safety in the game. “It felt great to get the shutout.”

FEW PLAYS AWAY FROM A DIFFERENT SEASON: The Falcons have been a bounce or two away from having a completely different season Four of their seven losses have been by a touchdown or less, including an overtime loss to Dartmouth last week and a one-point loss to Old Rochester, who finished as the Div. 6 South runner up and SCC Champions. “We’re very fortunate to be playing sports this year,” Moura said. “These kids know and understand what it’s like to go through adversity, losing games by a point or a field goal. That’s why it was so great to see them play like they did tonight. They earned it.”

GETTING READY FOR THE WARRIORS: The annual rivalry game between D-R and Seekonk is less than two weeks away, and Moura said the Falcons will have their hands full with the Warriors. “They’re a very good team. Like us, they’ve had some ups and downs this year,” he said. “They throw the ball very well and are always tough on defense.” While the Falcons (3-7) will enter the game coming off a win, Seekonk (6-5) dropped its last game before Thanksgiving when Cohasset prevailed 34-14 on Friday night. “It doesn’t matter what the records are,” Moura said. “It’s just a great game to play.”

QUICK SLANTS: The Lancers ran six offensive plays and gained only 11 yards in the entire second half. D-R had the ball the entire fourth quarter with a running clock per MIAA rules. … Brodie Jacques had a strong game defensively. The junior was in on many tackles. Also shining on defense for the Falcons were linebackers Wes McQuillan, Kairet and Alec Bilodeau. … Ishmael Christmas led the Falcons with three catches for 26 yards and was solid in the secondary from the safety spot. … D-R quarterback John Marcille was 10-for-17 for 120 yards on the night. “John’s getting better every week,” Moura said. “He studies film and does his homework.” … Thanksgiving will be the final game for D-R and Seekonk seniors, but it will be a fond farewell for a trio of Falcons: Marcus MOss, Evan Gleason and Aiden Botelho, who are the only three seniors on Dighton-Rehoboth who played all four years. “It’s going to be a special game for them,” Moura said. … The Lancers were playing without top running threat Jahvon Morson and receiving threat Hunter Murphy. … The Lancers (5-5) were the champions of the Tri-Valley League Small Division.

DIGHTON-REHOBOTH 31, NORTON 0
D-R 14 3 14 0-31
Norton 0 0 0 0-0
Scoring
First Quarter
DR: Brady Walsh 74 run (run failed), 5:30
DR: Jaren Ramos 44 run (Brady Walsh run), 3:10
Second Quarter
DR: Adam Pereira 20 kick, 5:04
Third Quarter
DR: Brady Walsh 17 run (Adam Pereira kick), 7:18
DR: Brady Walsh 31 run (Adam Pereira kick), 2:16
Statistics
Rushing
DR-Brady Walsh 17-210, John Marcille 3-1, Jaren Ramos 9-61, Aiden Botelho 5-25, Jake Suprenaud 1-(-4); N-Hunter Barron 6-5, Colin Cochrane 6-(-5), Dolan Wilke 2-(-3).
Passing
DR-John Marcille 10-17-120-0-0; N-Colin Cochrane 7-15-60-0-1.
Receiving
DR-Jaren Ramos 2-37, Ishmael Christmas 3-26, Brady Walsh 1-5, Brodie Jacques 1-11, Aidan Botelho 3-41; N-Hunter Barron 1-14, Jack Patalano 1-11, Matt O’Keefe 3-21, Sean McNichols 2-14.