Cosmos hold off Terriers 31-21
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Staff Report - Published: November 8, 2009
WESTMINSTER – High school football games can turn around in a hurry. But the 180-degree turn in the Division III semifinal between Springfield and Bellows Falls was astonishing and will add another chapter to the storybook of these rivals, who met for the 97th time Saturday.
With 3:30 remaining in the half, Bellows Falls held a 15-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Springfield had leapfrogged over the Terriers and led 16-15 — leaving the throng at Hadley Field with their mouths open — en route to a stunning 31-21 victory and a return trip to the Division III championship game to defend its title.
The third-seeded Cosmos (8-2) advance to play No. 1 Windsor (8-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. at Natowitch Field in Brattleboro. Meanwhile, the Terriers, who had not made the playoffs since 2005, capped a comeback season at 7-3. The record in the rivalry now stands at 48-45-4 in BF's favor.
With 4:49 remaining until intermission, the Terriers looked comfortably in control with the ball on their own 24. The Terriers defense had stopped Springfield QB Brandon Boyle on fourth down just short of the sticks and took possession. Coach Bob Lockerby felt relaxed. His team piled up 126 yards on the ground, scored twice and had shut down the diverse Cosmos offense.
But on third down, QB Ben Hewitt ran the keeper and fumbled, with Springfield gaining possession on the Terriers 28. Two plays later, Boyle thought quickly on a broken play and found Billy Wheeler running free in the BF secondary, and the tall receiver wove his way 27 yards to the end zone with 2:38 remaining. Boyle then hooked up with Wheeler again for the two-point conversion and the Cosmos were on the comeback trail at 15-8.
BF took the kickoff and could do nothing as the Springfield defense had discovered its fire. On fourth down, the Terriers dropped back to punt but the short snap and the strong Cosmos rush prevented the kick and Springfield gained possession at the Terriers 25 with 1:01 remaining.
It took only one play — and it was a doozy — as Cosmos coach Mike Hatt pulled a trick out of his playbook. Boyle took the snap out of the shotgun, pitched it to Wheeler on a reverse and then Wheeler found a wide-open Boyle with a pass for a 25-yard touchdown.
Boyle was called for taunting on the TD but despite the 15-yard penalty, Boyle connected with Colin LaPlante for the two-pointer and just like that, the Cosmos were in the lead, 16-15.
"That was one play we've been working on for three years and it was the first time it ever worked," Boyle said of the trickery.
When asked if he'd ever seen a game turn around that quickly, Boyle said, "I've seen them but I've never been a part of one; we just had no emotion at the beginning."
But the two big plays by Springfield stoked the emotional furnace and the Cosmos never cooled down.
"We were lacking a little confidence and were back on our heels no doubt," Hatt said. "But to get not only one score but two scores, it just gave us a world of confidence going into the second half."
What happened to the Terriers, who seemed so self-assured and so in command at the onset of the game? BF had put together two 11-play scoring drives, chewing up yardage with a punishing ground game featuring backs Tim Muzzy and Ryan Hayward, with each of them scoring a touchdown.
"It's no one person's fault; we just didn't get it done," Lockerby said. "I couldn't believe what was happening before my eyes. But rather than slam my kids, I'll just give Springfield credit. They were just very opportunistic in that four-minute span."
The Cosmos continued to ride their emotional high, taking the kickoff and fashioning a 10-play, 76-yard march that consumed nearly five of the third period.
Matt Mitchell carried the freight as the undersized running back burst through holes bulldozed by his line on quick openers, while Boyle again proved to be the wild card for the Cosmos, connecting with Wheeler and finding Mitchell on key passes. Mitchell blasted the final 2 yards for a touchdown. Boyle hit LaPlante for the two-pointer and Springfield increased the lead to 24-15.
But BF was not finished. The Terriers needed a big play and got one from Hayward, who skirted the left end, broke a tackle and raced down the Terriers sideline 39 yards for an answering TD. Even though the try for two failed, BF was back into it, trailing 24-21 with 5:04 remaining in the third.
The Terrier defense needed a stop but Boyle was feeling it and the wide-open Cosmos' attack came through one more time.
On a second and long, Boyle dropped back to pass. You could see the senior go through his reads and then he found Bennett Chevalier alone in the right flat. Boyle's pass was on target and Chevalier took it in stride and rambled 56 yards to paydirt.
"Brandon made a lot of improv plays out there: the improv play to Billy for the first touchdown and then the play to Bennett to the house. The initial primary option was not there but he held on and kept his composure in the pocket and made a play for us," Hatt said. "We gave up the second-half touchdown after we though we had them stopped. The thing we worried about two weeks in a row was the big play from them. We gave up the one today. If you give up one, you can live with it but you just can't give up a lot of them."
BF was able to churn out 191 yards on the ground but the Terriers fumbled three times. Hayward led the attack with 121 yards on 23 carriers, with TDs of 8 and 39 yards.
Once Springfield got the lead, the Terriers were hard-pressed to comeback because they are a run-oriented team. Hewitt was only 3-for-9 with two interceptions for only 9 yards.
Meanwhile, Boyle was magic through the air, completing 8 of 14 as, with Wheeler's completion to Boyle added in, the Cosmos racked up 172 yards through the air. The Cosmos rushing total of 68 yards was deceiving because Boyle surrendered 54 negative yards in killing the clock at the end of the game.
chuck.clarino@rutlandherald.com
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