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East Lynn quarterback Mathias Fowler threw for 150 yards and ran for 85, but his team lost to the New Haven Steelers Saturday in the New England Regional Championships.
By STEVE KRAUSE
The East Lynn Pop Warner B Squad could not solve the defense of the New Haven Steelers Saturday in the New England Regional championship game.
The Bulldogs played the Steelers tight for about a half, said coach Duke Wilson, but New Haven pulled away late in the game, to win 26-0, at Foley Stadium in Worcester.
“I’m disappointed in the way we performed,” said Wilson. “No way were they 26 points better than us. Late in the fourth quarter they picked us off and ran it back for a touchdown, and that makes it seem worse than it was.
“I take nothing away from them,” said Wilson. “They are a good team. They’re just not 26 points better than us.”
Despite the loss, Wilson saw some positives. Quarterback Mathias Fowler ran the ball for 85 yards and passed for 150 more. And those passing stats would have been much better had a Fowler-to-D.J. Green touchdown reception for 55 yards not been called back after a penalty was called for blocking in the back.
“It was what we call a smokescreen,” said Wilson. “The linemen get through and the receiver sets up behind them.”
The score was 12-0 at the half, “but we had a couple of turnovers that killed us,” said Wilson. “Turnovers and penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot several times, and we just couldn’t get any momentum. We were in the red zone a couple of times, and here comes a penalty. Here comes a turnover.
“It happens,” he said. “That’s true. But it’s unfortunate. It was our last game, and our biggest game. I could live with it if we’d played our best, but we didn’t play like we’re capable of playing.”
On the whole, though, Wilson is happy with the season, in which the Bulldogs went 10-0 until Saturday.
“I look at some of the teams we played,” he said. “We beat Revere, and they’re in Division 2. We beat Everett twice. Any time you can beat an Everett team, that’s good. We beat the Boston Raiders. These are very good programs. It says a lot about the kids and what’s going on with them.”
Still, Wilson said, it was a game until that interception in the fourth quarter.
“Their kid picked it off and took it back 40 yards,” Wilson said. “That sealed the deal. As a coach, you want your kids to fight until the last second, but you also know. You could sense it.”
Wilson said that cornerback Ray Goncalves played well.
“I just want to tell the kids and parents I’m proud of them,” he said. “To have two teams in the New England championships (the D squad also fell Saturday), that shows you what kind of a program we have.”