Image courtesy of Mukala Kabongo
By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Staff
FOXBOROUGH – Fairhaven prides itself on its dominant line play and running game. On a cold Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, the Blue Devils ran for 410 yards, 226 of which came in the second half, in a 28-14 win over top-seeded Norwell in the Division 6 Super Bowl.
The win is the second state championship in three seasons for Fairhaven.
With the game tied at 14 coming out of halftime, Fairhaven went on a tone-setting drive to start the second half. The end result was a six-yard touchdown by senior running back Ian Alexion to put the third-seeded Blue Devils ahead for good, 20-14.
“I’m just really proud of this group” said Fairhaven head coach Derek Almeida. “They work so hard. They really prepare. They care about each other. It makes it special when you get to do it with really good kids.”
The offensive line of Giovanni Lopez, Dean Joseph, Zach Moura, Ben Cormier, and Jacob DeSousa dominated up front throughout the night. The second half, in particular, was impressive.
In addition to the tone-setting first drive of the second half, the Fairhaven offense went on a long drive to ice the game and give themselves a 14-point lead with five minutes to play in regulation.
Alexion (182 yards) shook off two second half fumbles to pick up a crucial fourth-and-one. Alexion rumbled through the hole and picked up 10 yards. Four plays later senior Grant Darmofal (192 yards) dove in from six yards out.
The dominant effort was particularly special for senior captain Zach Moura. Moura, a three-year starter, has played in three consecutive state championship games. As a sophomore, Fairhaven beat Salem. Last season, the Blue Devils fell to Hudson. Now, Moura and his classmates go out on top with their second state title.
“It’s amazing” said Moura. “One year we won it all together. The next year we lost. When you go through tough adversity like that, it’s really tough to get back. But, we did it, and we came back stronger.”
The two high-flying offenses struggled in the first quarter. The teams were feeling each other out and there was no score in the first 12 minutes. In the second quarter, the offenses started to click, combining for 28 points before halftime.
Fairhaven (12-1) opened the scoring with a three-yard run by Darmofal.
On the next play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Jack Luccarelli took off for a 65-yard touchdown, his 37th of the season to put Norwell ahead, 7-6.
Fairhaven regained the lead, 14-7, on a one-yard run by Alexion. Darmofal added the two-point conversion.
27 seconds later, Luccarelli answered again. The star signal caller threw a 20-yard dart to receiver Teddy Glynn to knot the game at 14 before halftime.
The win is Fairhaven’s fifth Super Bowl title in school history. Norwell was making its first appearance since 1999, and have not won a title since 1997.
Luccarelli exited the game late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.
“What I told [the players] is that they created a new standard” said Norwell first-year coach Jason Pithie. “That’s a heck of a football team in Fairhaven, and if a couple things go our way, maybe it’s a different result.”
“The culture of our program is the weight room, toughness, and physicality” added Almeida. “Just really playing the game with aggression.”
Images courtesy of Mukala Kabongo