Concord-Carlisle stuffs Lexington on Thanksgiving Eve

Concord-Carlisle ended its season on a high note shutting out Lexington - in the nightcap of a Thanksgiving eve tripleheader at Fenway Park There was no shot heard round the world a distinction that belongs to the Battles of Lexington and Concord from years ago but there was plenty of firepower from the Concord-Carlisle offense And at the conclusion of the rd meeting between the schools Concord-Carlisle now leads the series - - extending its winning streak to six Right from the start the Concord-Carlisle defense created opportunities for its offense After forcing a turnover on downs to open the championship Concord-Carlisle - scored on its opening drive Operating out of the wildcat formation senior Lewis Simon seized the moment finding a hole courtesy of outstanding blocking and making a -yard dash to the end zone I let loose announced Simon five carries yards TDs I m happy to play in this stadium and I m happy to do it with my guys This all means a lot I couldn t let this championship get away from me An extra point from Jack Garofalo put the Patriots ahead - with seconds remaining in the first Both teams had opportunities to tally before the half yet neither capitalized Lexington s Kian Millett missed a -yard field goal attempt wide left just before the midway point of the second quarter and quarterback Ethan Hatch came close on a couple of deep balls Concord-Carlisle nearly added to the lead when sophomore quarterback Ryan Duffy attempted to engineer a -yard scoring drive in the half s closing moments but he fell yards short when Lexington defensive back Griffin Leahy made a ferocious sack as time expired But Duffy wouldn t be denied for long During Concord-Carlisle s first possession of the third quarter the Patriots used the run effectively before Duffy sent a perfect spiral yards to tight end Alex Fivek in the end zone That put Concord-Carlisle ahead - with eight minutes to play in the quarter It s real easy when you have a strong defense behind you disclosed Duffy No matter what we did they had our back And I love my O-line They protect me every day That s the backbone of our offense Eight seconds into the fourth quarter Concord-Carlisle added onto the lead with a -yard run from junior running back Sawyer Carnes Following a missed extra point that gave the Patriots had a commanding - lead On the final run of his high school career Simon scored his second touchdown for Concord-Carlisle with remaining in the battle Latest tackles and deftly avoiding others on a -yard power sprint past the goal line he put Concord-Carlisle ahead - The Patriots would tack on another touchdown with two minutes to play when senior Christian Meyer pounded the ball in from the two-yard line making it - A stingy defensive effort from Concord-Carlisle kept Lexington scoreless There was an emphasis on stopping the Lexington run limiting the Minutemen to only yards on the ground in the third quarter Our defense came prepared disclosed Concord-Carlisle coach Josh Reed Coach Derek Robbins had a great plan for us and the boys really responded Our offensive line did a tremendous job up front and our backs did a great job blocking Despite only trailing by a touchdown at the half Lexington - struggled to make stops or create scoring opportunities in the second half While Lexington coach John DeLuca was disappointed with the outcome he was extremely proud of his senior captains James Moehring Matheo Gomes John Lilley and Alex Manson for all their contributions to the campaign We re definitely going to be pointing to those guys in the future as the example not only as football players but as people reported DeLuca They re fantastic role models and they put their heart and soul into this unit For Concord-Carlisle that second half is one that they will remember all off-season Reed was requested whether he commented anything particularly inspiring at the half which drew a smile on his face It was a colorful speech for them to understand their full probable stated Reed We started a little sluggish but they responded And it s more than just one encounter Playing at Fenway Park it s surreal It s an opportunity of a lifetime and these guys deserved it