SPORTS: Comeback Win for Crusaders
In football action, Groton-Dunstable defeated visiting Algonquin 35-14 to kick off the Crusaders homecoming weekend.
GD trailed 7-0 and 14 -7 before finally taking a 21-14 lead with 2:15 remaining in the second quarter. The go-ahead TD was set up by quarterback Corey Romich's pass to senior Joey Stewart that covered 71 yards. Romich's strike to Stewart went for 20 yards and the big tight end did the rest, refusing to go down, dragging defenders to the Tomahawks' one foot line. Senior running back Tristan Lynch burst into the end zone for the touchdown giving the Crusaders the lead for good. Erik Yanchenko, who booms his kick-offs and PATs, once again kicked the extra point.
In the opening quarter, Algonquin (0-5, 0-2) recovered a fumble on the Crusaders' first series and took the early lead when Jimmy Egan hauled in a 14-yard TD pass from QB Tim Keville (Ben Jachowiczkick).
With Lynch and junior fullback Joey Orlando moving the chains with a solid ground attack, the Crusaders moved to the Algonquin seven yard line. Romich, called his own number and ran it in to knot the score at 7-7 ( Yanchenko kick).
The Tomahawks answered mid-way through the second quarter on a Tim Keville to Kyle Hill 37-yard TD pass (Ben Jachowicz kick), tying the game at 14-14 before the Romich-Stewart connection and Lynch TD late in the second quarter.
Orlando and Lynch both scored touchdowns in the third stanza with the extra points by Yanchenko.
Lynch led the Crusaders with 122 yards, 102 in the second half, on 18 carries. Orlando had nine carries for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Orlando had eight tackles and deflected a Keville pass attempt in the end zone in the final seconds of the first half to preserve GD's seven point lead.
Senior Quintin Forbes played an extremely effective game despite playing with a full cast on his arm. "I wanted to play tonight's game before my surgery," said Forbes. "It might be my last game of the season." It had to be motivating to his teammates to see him diving for balls, deflecting passes from his defensive back position with that hunk of fiberglass and/or plaster on his arm.
"Corey (Romich) had a breakout game tonight," said varsity football coach Derek Asadoorian. "He played with confidence. We scored on all of our possessions except in the fourth when we did not want to run it up. Slow start but we got better as the game went on. You know, we were faced with adversity but we responded both times when we trailed. With Forbes unable to play offensively, Tristan (Lynch) and Joey (Orlando) stepped it up."
The Crusaders (3-2, 2-2 Mid-Wach B) have games remaining with Fitchburg (2-3) and Westborough (0-4) before the new MIAA playoff format begins. A split would get them in. Two wins would ensure a higher seeding. The Crusaders better be ready. Fitchburg is a big, physical football team.
