Thursday night’s rain-soaked football game between Old Town and John Bapst did not fail to entertain.
Facing a 24-0 deficit with less than 1:30 remaining in the second quarter, the Crusaders quickly marched downfield and scored three seconds before halftime.
Upon receiving the second half kickoff, Bapst scored two more times in a row — stopping the Coyotes’ offense for the first time all night — and suddenly it was a 24-21 ballgame.
“We got slapped in the third quarter, but we came back and slapped them even harder,” Old Town sophomore lineman Donovan Davis said. “We stuck together.”
With the John Bapst crowd roaring and things looking dire for the Coyotes, sophomore quarterback Ethan Closson played the role of special teams hero, running back an 87-yard kickoff return TD to help seal the victory for Old Town.
It was his first career kickoff return.
John Bapst responded with junior Aiden Oullette’s second rushing touchdown of the fourth quarter, but Old Town found its offensive groove again and iced it with a 20-yard touchdown run for junior Ben King.
Old Town improved to 2-2 on the season with the 40-27 victory, avenging its regional semifinal loss to John Bapst last year. The Crusaders fell to 1-3.
“We came into this game with a little chip on our shoulder from last year’s playoffs,” Old Town senior running back Elijah Alston (159 yards rushing, one touchdown, four two-point conversions) said. “We knew we were going to come out with this. We just had to keep on playing.”
