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CAPTURE
THE MOMENT |
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CHRONICLE SPORTS Crusaders Suffer Second
Straight Stinger NANTUCKET — It wasn’t as heartbreaking as last week’s last-second loss, but this one still hurt pretty bad. After playing a near flawless first half, The Cape Tech/Harwich football team stumbled after the break, committing two turnovers and allowing two unanswered touchdowns in a 14-12 non-league loss to Nantucket on the island Friday night.
CT/H, on a three-game skid, falls to 5-4. Nantucket, 0-10 last season, completes a remarkable turnaround and finishes the season with a 6-5 mark. “Mistakes will hurt you and you’ve got to play both halves,” said Cape Tech/Harwich coach Dave Currid before tipping his hat to the Whalers. “They’ve improved a lot since we saw them [in a scrimmage] over the summer, and they made the plays when it counted.” Nantucket quarterback Taylor Hughes (11-for-24) threw for 147 yards and two TDs, souring a sensational effort by Tech tailback Taylor Inkley, who carried the ball 29 times for a career-best 208 yards before leaving with a late injury. CT/H out-gained Nantucket 338-189 in total yardage (including a 224-25 edge in the first half), but failed to take advantage of three turnovers and also dropped three potential interceptions. “We had several opportunities,” said Currid, shaking his head. “You’ve got to play flawless football and control the football and we didn’t do that in the second half.” CT/H had beaten Nantucket four straight times, and by an aggregate of 96-0 over the past three years. That served as plenty of incentive for the Whalers and their seven seniors. “I told my team this is their last game, their seniors are going to let it all hang out and to be prepared for that,” said Currid. He also told them to “finish the job” after surrendering the lead with seven seconds to go in a 14-12 loss to Bristol-Plymouth. That message was received loud and clear in the first half, as Nantucket’s spread offense couldn’t keep pace with Tech’s powerful and punishing power-I running game. The Crusaders controlled the tempo from the opening kickoff, rolling off nine straight positive yardage runs before QB Mike Brigham fooled the Whalers with an 18-yard play-action touchdown pass to tight end David McWilliams. CT/H nearly added another score, but their 17-play 86-yard drive disintegrated when Jamison Viera picked off Inkley’s fourth-and-goal pass on the edge of the end zone. Inkley personally atoned for that miscue on his team’s ensuring series, capping a three-play, 45-yard drive with runs of 12, 26 and seven yards, respectively, to give the visitors a commanding 12-0 lead in the waning seconds before halftime. Nantucket held the ball for fewer than three-and-a-half minutes in the first half, during which time Hughes was a non factor, going 3-for-10 with an interception. After the intermission, however, the sophomore signal caller practically couldn’t miss. Hughes hooked up with Viera for a 26-yard strike down the middle before tossing a lob to six-foot-two receiver Terrel Correia in the corner of the end zone in the opening minutes of the third quarter, capping a quick three-play drive. Hughes found Correia again on the two-point try to make it 12-8. “We didn’t make any adjustments at the half,” first-year Nantucket coach John Aloisi said. “With our passing offense, we knew we were only a few plays from getting back in it, because we have big play capability.” CT/H fumbled two plays into its next drive and Nantucket cashed in when Hughes nailed Viera right between the numbers from nine yards out to finish off a nine-play 58-yard drive. The Crusaders had their chances to get back in the game, beginning with George Castaneda’s onside kick recovery at midfield. Nick Gault followed with a 25-yard run, but CT/H turned the ball over on down four plays later inside the red zone. Another golden opportunity was lost after the Crusaders fumbled an exchange two plays after Nantucket put the ball on the ground early in the fourth quarter. Tech’s offense finally got on track when Inkley ripped off a 35-yard run into Whaler territory during CT/H’s final drive. But the star senior separated his shoulder on the play and was forced to watch the final seven minutes from the sidelines. Brigham, who battled a bad back the entire game, took over from there, completing a 16-yard pass to McWilliams and later a 12-yarder to Dom DiMatteo to put the Crusaders within 13 yards of the go-ahead score with four minutes remaining. But Tech’s next three plays netted no yards and Brigham’s fourth-down pass to DiMatteo was stopped six yards shy of the marker. “I thought we could punch it in there, I really thought we could,” said Currid. “But fourth and 11 is a tall order.” With one time out and 2:43 to go, CT/H couldn’t put the breaks on the Whalers, as Viera sealed the game with an 11-yard sweep on third-and-four. “Tech is so stout up the middle that we thought we’d run a toss,” Aloisi said. “It’s a little risky because you’re putting the ball in the air, and it can be bobbled or fumbled, but Jamie is our go-to-guy, our captain and our leader, so we wanted the ball in his hands.” The victory gave Nantucket its first winning season since 2006 when they finished 6-5. Tech, meanwhile, has little time to regroup and prepare for its annual Thanksgiving Day game against Mashpee. “We’re banged up, but the good thing is we get to play another game,” said Currid.
HARWICH — The Cape Tech/Harwich football team is still in the hunt for a Vocational Super Bowl berth, but they need outside help. If Southeastern losses to South Shore and Greater New Bedford losses to Diman Thanksgiving Day, CT/H will represent the Large South division in the Voc. Super Bowl at Quincy’s Veterans Memorial Stadium Dec. 3. If Southeastern losses but Greater New Bedford wins, the tiebreaker between CT/H and Greater New Bedford will be decided by a winner-take-all coin flip. If Southeastern wins its final game, they will clinch the spot in the Super Bowl. Beginning in 2004, the Voc Super Bowl was
created to offer a championship forum for vocational schools, which
rarely qualify for MIAA Super Bowls.
Sticking To
It CHATHAM — Lying in a hospital bed at Mass General, Brian Phillips was sure he’d never lace up his skates, take a slap shot or score a goal again. Not after losing his left leg in a horrific motorcycle accident. A day before his 19th birthday and just a couple of months before he was to tryout for the Elmira College Men’s Hockey Team, Phillips lost control of his Suzuki on an off-ramp and crashed into a cement wall.
“When I woke up in the hospital and they told me I lost my leg, my first thought was, ‘wow, I’m not going to be able to play hockey anymore,’” the 23-year-old and former Cape Tech/Chatham player said plaintively. But thanks to modern medicine and a remarkable resolve, Phillips – fitted with a prosthetic leg below his knee – is not only back on frozen water but flourishing on it after trying out for and becoming a finalist to make the United States Standing Amputee Hockey Team earlier this month. “To get out there and play again was one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time,” said Phillips. “It kind of makes me wish I didn’t jump on this opportunity sooner.” After his accident, Phillips underwent multiple surgeries and three months of rehab to learn how to walk again. Figuring his playing days had been permanently put on ice, Phillips moved forward by focusing on other endeavors. Among them was volunteering at the Pan Mass Challenge bike-a-thon in Boston last summer, where he found inspiration and experienced a revelation. “I saw this one-legged bicyclist, Jothy Rosberg, ride 90 miles,” marveled Phillips. “It was just so ridiculous that anyone would ride a bike with one leg that far. I thought, if this guy can do that, I should be able to play hockey again.” To get back into shape, Phillips went from being a rink rat to a gym rat. He works out six days a week for two hours each session, building muscle mass to compensate for the lack of one limb. “I don’t have an ankle, so pushing off the inside edge with my fake leg is a little strange,” said Phillips, whose challenges as a disabled athlete are both mental and physical. “I’m still in the feeling-out stage of relearning how to skate, and I’m also trying to find myself as a player again.” Phillips was able to do that to a small but significant degree during the tryouts for the United States Standing Amputee Hockey Team in Harford, Conn. “I got a breakaway against a guy with one arm, deked the goalie and roofed it,” said Phillips. “I saw the coach gave me a look like ‘oh this kid can do that.’ It was a great feeling, it let me know I can still play.” In that respect, he wasn’t alone. Since its inception in 2000, the American Amputee Hockey Association (AAHA) has provided a platform for several wounded warriors who come from all walks of life, including Joseph Bowser, a 48-year old Iraq War veteran who works in the Pentagon as an administrator when not pushing around pucks. “There are doctors, union workers, college kids, you name it,” said Phillips. “Everyone gets together and what we have in common is our love for the game and unfortunately our disability. I felt like I fit in.” Canada, Finland, Latvia, Russia and Czech Republic also have amputee hockey teams within the International Standing Ice Hockey Federation (ISIHF). Once a year, the nations meet to decide a world champion. This year, the 10-day tournament will be held in Montreal in April. During ISIHF competition, players are classified according to a points system based on the number of amputations and the severity (bilateral amputees, for example, are designated as one-point players, whereas skaters missing an arm but still have their elbow are considered three-point players). A team may not have more than 12 points on the ice at any time. Also, as expected, checking is not allowed, which poses something of a challenge to Phillips, who in high school, earned a reputation as a defensive offenseman. It was his job to dig out pucks in the corner and crash the net for rebounds. Phillips, by his own admission, spent “a fare share” of time in the penalty box. “I’ve always played with a lot of emotion and when I was younger, it was sometimes hard to control,” he said. “I’d say I’m a smarter person now. We’ll see if being a smart player carries over.” One thing that hasn’t changed is Phillips’ love for the game, which began when he first broke out his blades at five years old. “I really like being part of a team, competing and playing on a big stage,” he said. “I enjoy playing in games that matter and having that sense of urgency of having to get this done now or it’s never going to happen.” What may be most astonishing about Phillips’ story is that he didn’t start skating again until about six weeks ago. “Brian informed us that he’d only been on the ice a half dozen times prior to the tryouts, but given his limited time back, he did very well,” said AAHA team captain Dave Levesque. “He looked excited to be out there and I think he’ll be a great new addition to the team.” Added Bret Chernik, coach of the National Standing Amputee Hockey team, “Over the course of the [tryout] weekend, Brian progressed very nicely. He’s strong, determined and aggressive, knows how to read the game well, was hungry for the puck and blended in well with the other players. Being a good teammate is one of the main components we look for in a player.” Phillips is the first to admit he has a lot more training to do in order to make the 24-man roster, which will be finalized during a camp in April. He divides his time between school, the gym and the rink, thanks in large part to Charles Moore Arena Rink Manager Tony Nannini and Facility Operator Mike Dalmau, who’ve granted Phillips ice time whenever a free slot opens up. “I want to be out there, I have a passion for the game and I want to win,” said Phillips. “I understand the work that needs to be done for me to be successful, and I have drive to compete at this level.” The last four years have not been easy for the Chatham native, but he’s come to grips with his disability – once a source of sorrow, but now the driving force behind his reborn hockey career. “What I’ve learned is that things are never really that bad,” said Phillips. “Sometimes, things are just out of your control. When you’re put in a bad situation, you have to make the best of it.” 11/26/09 |
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