The Abington Green Wave and Norwell Clippers matched up pretty well on paper going into Friday night’s Division 6 quarterfinal playoff game.
Both teams were 7-2, they were ranked #5 and #4 respectively, and both featured speed at the skilled positions.
But it was Norwell that made the extra plays, pulling away in the second half to win 28-14 and end Abington’s Super Bowl dreams.
“They’re a good team. They’re a good program, well-coached,” Green Wave Head Coach Ed Reilly said after. “The team worked hard. We just didn’t get it done.”
Norwell’s Will Bostrom and Jake Luccarelli accounted for nearly all of the Clippers 280 yards of offense.
Luccarelli, a sophomore quarterback, rushed for all four Clipper touchdowns, finishing with 131 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
Bostrom rushed the ball 18 times for 111 yards, while also clearing the way for Luccarelli on two of his touchdowns. Bostrom also picked off a fourth quarter pass thrown by Green Wave running back Ryan Solimini during a gadget play to set up the Clippers final touchdown of the game.
“Bostrum and Luccarelli are really tough. Those two finished their runs. A couple times I thought we had them bottled up pretty good, and then they broke one or got a few extra yards and kept their drives going,” Reilly said.
“We had a couple good drives that stalled here or there, and that’s a difference a game like this.”
Norwell scored first, when Luccarelli turned the corner off the right tackle and ran 43 yards virtually untouched with 4:22 left in the first quarter.
The Green Wave responded with a 14-play, 64-yard drive led by Solimini and his fellow back Nazir Paulding. On third and six from the 6 yard line, senior quarterback Mike Reilly rolled right to keep the play alive, and saw receiver Kingston Maxwell with his hand up in the back of the endzone. Reilly threw the ball up where only Maxwell, a standout basketball player, could catch it, allowing Abington to tie the game with his under eight minutes left in the first half.
Norwell responded with a quick, six-play, 66-yard drive that culminated with Luccarelli running down the left sideline this time for a 29-yard touchdown. The score gave the Clippers a 14-7 lead, which they wouldn’t give back.
The first half, which featured multiple personal foul penalties underscoring the aggressiveness of the game, ended with the Green Wave driving at midfield. A confusing combination of penalties, delays, and uncertain timekeeping resulted in the clock hitting triple zeroes before Abington could get off a final play.
Abington started the second half with the ball, but their drive stalled after 10 plays and 35 yards.
Norwell took over on their own 25-yard line and drove 75 yards over 12 plays, eating up nearly eight minutes of clock time. Luccarelli ran the ball in from one yard out, and following the extra point, the Clippers went up 21-7.
The Green Wave’s responding drive lasted just two plays. Solimini, after a pitch from Reilly, looked for Maxwell down the middle of the field. But this time Bostrom came down with the ball at the 40
Working with a short field, Norwell moved the ball quickly, with Luccarelli again punching it in, this time from three yards out. The successful extra point gave the Clippers a 28-7 lead with 5:21 left in the game.
Abington, who finished with just over 200 yards of total offense, responded by launching their longest drive of the game. The Green Wave moved the ball 81 yards through a combination of quick passes and short runs. Reilly found Maxwell again in the endzone from 11 yards out to allow Abington to close out the scoring, 28-14 with just a few seconds left.
Reilly finished the game 10-for-17 and 74 yards passing with two touchdowns. He also ran the ball seven times for 45 yards.
Maxwell had touchdown catches of six and 11 yards.
Ed Reilly, who is 7-3 in his first season as Green Wave head coach, said the team will now shift its focus to its annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Whitman-Hanson.
“Whitman-Hanson’s a big game for us, it always has been, and I don’t think that’s going to change with this group,” Reilly said. “This group, they really enjoy each other, and I think everyone’s going to want to send the seniors out right now.”
Kickoff is 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day at Memorial Field.
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