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East Lynn Pop Warner D Squad coach Petey Dow said his team was overmatched Saturday in its game against Hartford.
By STEVE KRAUSE
There’s not a lot to say about a 40-0 loss.
But East Lynn Pop Warner D Squad coach Petey Dow had plenty to say about the kids who got the team to the New England championship game Saturday at Foley Stadium in Worcester.
“Some of these kids I’ll remember forever,” said Dow after the Hartford Hurricanes defeated his team Saturday morning. “We had a bunch of fun. The kids … the parents … the kids experienced something they might not ever experience again. We gained a lifetime of friendships with the little run we had.”
He says that, but he also knows there’s a chance they just might next year.
“We got beat by a better team,” Dow said. “If we played them 10 times, they’d probably beat us 10 times. We’re not at their level yet. We’re close, but not there.”
One of the problems, said Dow, is that even though the age bracket is roughly 9 through 11, most of Hartford’s players were older, while most of his were younger.
“Next year will be different,” Dow said. “This year, the D squad had only two returning players from last year. Next year we should have about 20.
“What we did this year, with their experience, should have an effect not just on next year, but years to come.”
How dominant was the Hartford team?
“I think we’re the only team all year to get a first down,” said Dow.
The D Squad Bulldogs did not get off to a very promising start. They were 3-5 after their regular season ended, but their 3-1 mark in North Shore Conference bought them a ticket to the playoffs.
Also, said Dow, even though the team lost five games, they were close in many of them.
“We played West Lynn the last game of the season,” said Dow, “and they’d been blowing everyone out. But they only beat us 15-7.”
When the playoffs began, East Lynn turned it on. The Bulldogs defeated Everett, 19-7, which set up a victorious rematch with West Lynn.
The Bulldogs rallied from a 12-0 halftime deficit. With 17 seconds left in the game and down 12-7, quarterback Janathan Andredes called two plays. The first one brought Lynn down to the 1-yard line. With two seconds left on the clock, East Lynn snapped the ball and Andredes ran it in for the score, and East Lynn had a 13-12 win.
“That was probably the most exciting game I’ve ever coached’’said Dow. “Everybody went absolutely nuts afterward.”
After playing six games in three days — the last one the state championship against the Boston Raiders — the Bulldogs were in the New England regionals.
A win would have meant a trip to Disney World for the national championships, but “there was no way we were going to beat those guys. They were just too good. They’re one of the best teams I’ve ever seen at this level.”
Dow said he hopes the squad learned that “you can take any group of kids, talented or not talented, and get them to believe in themselves. If you can do that, you can accomplish anything.
“In the beginning of the season, they were down on themselves, but through practice, and hard work, they came together. And that got them to where they were.”
Aside from Andredes, Dow wanted to single out Morel Castro, who had three receptions in the game, and got two of the first downs East Lynn earned. Also, cornerback Ernie Panias played well, he said.
“They had some really tall receivers and he’s not so tall. He stayed right with them in pass coverage.”