“When I first came in to Concord-Carlisle, I told my coach, because I was a little cocky freshman, I told him we were going to win the state championship before I left here,’’ said senior back George Craan (18 carries, 122 yards, 3 TDs). “It feels good to finish with a bang.’’
The Dual County Small champs got on the board with a 4-yard score by Craan, taking advantage of a muffed punt that Tyler Konig recovered at the Tigers’ 34-yard line.
Oliver Ames responded with a 26-yard field goal from Ryan McGrath to make it 7-3, but the Patriots scored 35 consecutive points to cruise to victory.
Craan collected his second score on a 9-yard carry to give C-C a 13-3 lead entering the second quarter. The Patriots created a turnover as Will Blumenberg intercepted OA quarterback Jared Schneider (11 of 22, 123 yards) at the Tigers’ 43.
Seven plays later, C-C quarterback Ryan Hoey (3 of 4, 41 yards, 2 TDs) lofted a pass to the end zone that 6-foot-6-inch Henry Bumpus snatched from two defenders for a 20-yard score to put the Patriots ahead, 21-3, at the half.
C-C continued to produce in the second half, as Tyquan Culbreath broke three tackles and raced to the end zone from 35 yards to give his team a 28-3 lead.
On the next series, Bumpus stepped in front of an OA screen pass and returned it 23 yards to the Tigers’ 14. One play later, Bumpus scored again to give C-C a 35-3 lead after three quarters.
For Bumpus, who played through an illness in last season’s Super Bowl loss, the victory was a year in the making.
“The ultimate motivation for me,’’ Bumpus said of the Duxbury loss. “That was the worst day of my life, between me getting sick before the game and playing the worst game of my life. I had to redeem myself today, and I think I did that.’’
Craan continued to pound away, finishing a six-play, 51-yard drive with a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter for a 42-3 lead.
Sam Langston (14 carries, 60 yards, TD; 1 catch, 49 yards) finally got the Hockomock Davenport champions into the end zone on a 3-yard run.
The Patriots totaled 298 yards on the ground, led by Craan, Culbreath (10 carries, 81 yards, TD) and Tim Badgley (6 carries, 91 yards).
“That’s really what got us here, spreading it around a little bit,’’ Robichaud said. “We were really happy that we could use those guys to spread the ball a little bit and try to keep Oliver Ames off balance.’’
