Old Colony football ends championship run, ‘left it all on the field’
Nov 19, 2022
Max Finney, number 8, and Andrew Cassetta, number 52, during the semi-final game against Hull. Photos courtesy: Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School.
Quarterback Matt McGuiggan, number 3, runs with the ball.
The Old Colony Varsity football team lost 35-12 against Hull during the Div. 8 semi-final game on Friday, Nov. 19.
SANDWICH — A state championship run for the Old Colony Varsity Football team ended in a 35-12 loss during a semi-final game in Sandwich against Hull High School on Friday, Nov. 18.
Hull will go on to face KIPP Academy at Gillette Stadium in the Div. 8 Championship.
Going into Friday’s semi-final game against Hull, Old Colony Football coach Brandon Mendez knew that, win or lose, his team would “leave it all on the field.”
This is Old Colony’s first time reaching the semi-finals in the MIAA state championship and to get to this point, said Mendez, the team played hard.
Throughout the season they averaged around 28 points per game and only allowed the opposing team to score an average of 11 points per game, he added.
“All in all, as a team, we’ve had a very good year,” he said. “The offense has been steady and the strength has really been in the defense — that’s where the game starts, on the defense.”
Old Colony previously faced Hull during the “fall to winter Covid season” in 2021, said Mendez. He added that Hull won that game by “a couple of scores.”
Going into Friday’s game, Mendez knew that the Cougars would have a tough road ahead of them.
“[Hull has] very good athletes, a good size and they play very tough,” said Mendez.”It's going to be a huge challenge.”
Heading into the match, Old Colony was 9-1 in the season. Their only loss was 18-16 against Nashoba Valley Technical High School in October.
But this year wasn’t defined by loss for the Cougars.
For the second year in a row, Old Colony won the Mayflower Small Vocational League, beating out South Shore Vocational Technical High School, Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical High School and Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical High School.
Regardless of how the season turned out, reaching the semi-finals was still a success for Old Colony.
“It's an exciting time for the school and for the team,” said Mendez. “We're excited for this type of opportunity.”
“The team played hard, as they did all season,” added Mendez. “We are proud of the student athletes on this team.”
The Cougars next game will be against “Thanksgiving Rival” Tri-County Voke in the annual Cougar Cup game on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
