By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Correspondent
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield plays as fast as anyone in the state on offense. On Friday night, the third-seeded Rams used that pace to jump out to an early lead over No. 6 Bishop Feehan en route to a dominant 51-24 victory.
The Rams controlled the Division 2 quarterfinal matchup from the opening possession.
Less than four minutes into the game, Marshfield scored a touchdown on a three-yard rush by Davin True.
Early on, it seemed like the visiting Shamrocks (7-2) would be able to go toe to toe with the high-octane Rams offense. Bishop Feehan’s first drive stalled inside the Rams 10-yard line, but Austin Clemente booted through a 20-yard field goal to cut the lead to 6-3.
Marshfield (8-2) quickly responded. The Rams moved the ball down the field with ease and junior quarterback Tor Maas capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak.
“Once we get our tempo going, it’s easy to do anything in this offense” said Maas. “Everything opens up. The passing game, the running game.”
After forcing a three and out on defense, a confident Marshfield offense took the field for the third time. The Rams capitalized and scored their third touchdown in as many tries. True scored his second touchdown of the half on a six-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.
Bishop Feehan put the ball in the hands of its sophomore quarterback Owen Mordas early in the second quarter and the youngster delivered. Mordas threw a gorgeous go route down the left sideline to wide receiver Danny Fasy. Two plays later, Mordas connected with Brett McCaffery on a five-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 20-10.
Marshfield junior Charlie Carroll returned the ensuing kickoff 80-yards for a touchdown to extend the Rams lead and swing the momentum back in the home team’s favor.
The Bishop Feehan offense showed some resiliency and drove down the field again. Mordas connected with Finn McHale on a 23-yard touchdown.
Marshfield yet again was able to respond. Maas dropped a beautiful 35-yard ball into the arms of Nic Cupples for a Ram touchdown. The Rams scored a touchdown on each of their first four offensive possessions. The hosts led 34-17 at halftime.
“It all starts at practice” said Cupples. “We’re high tempo from the moment we step on the field. No walking. We’re always running. Even when we’re doing scout offense versus defense, it’s full speed the entire time.”
In the second half, the Marshfield defense never let Bishop Feehan feel like they had a chance. The Rams gave up only one second half touchdown and it came with a running clock late in the fourth quarter.
Mordas found Jack Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown.
Marshfield added two more touchdowns and a field goal in the second half to run away with the game. Maas connected with Carroll on a 13-yard strike. Carroll made a great play on the ball and maintained possession after a hard hit from a Shamrock defender.
Later in the third quarter, Maas hit Cupples on a swing pass for a one-yard score.
“Every week [Maas] has gotten better and better” said Marshfield head coach Chris Arouca. “And I think the most impressive thing about him is that he doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s a great person and a great student. He’s playing lights out right now”
Camden McLeod nailed a 35-yard field goal in between the two third quarter touchdowns.
After facing a daunting early season schedule, which included games against playoff teams St. John’s Prep, Methuen and Mansfield, the Rams have hit their stride and are winners of eight consecutive games.
“When you play games like that early, our philosophy is you’re gonna face adversity” said Arouca. “They were competitive games and that helped us later in the season.”
Now, the Rams turn their attention to the state semifinals where they’ll take on two-time reigning champions Catholic Memorial. The Rams and Knights met in the 2021 state semifinals as well.
