Strong season comes to an end for West Lynn Pop Warner D squad

WORCESTER – The Disney Dream ended for the West Lynn Pop Warner D squad Saturday at Foley Field, but not before the Rams made a little history.”You guys are the first D team in West Lynn history to get this far,” coach Andre Robinson told the team after the 18-12 loss to Milford, Conn., in the New England regionals. “You may have lost, but that’s what happens. Somebody has to lose. But you guys did us all proud.”It was a tale of two completely contrasting styles ? at least on this day. West Lynn relied on the big play, and the Rams came through twice with them. Otherwise, it was Milford’s day, as the Eagles took a page from the usual West Lynn playbook and relied on a possession game to keep the explosive Rams off the field.”They did what we usually do,” shrugged Robinson. “They kept the ball away from us.”West Lynn didn’t even get a play off in the first quarter. That’s because Milford opened the game with an 11-play drive, with Ryan Luth taking it the final three for the score. The Eagles elected to try an onside kick, and recovered. They looked like they were en route to another long scoring drive before stalling early in the second quarter.When West Lynn finally got its hands on the ball, it took only six plays to tie the game, with Sam Fort taking it home on an explosive 38-yard gallop.Undaunted, the Eagles embarked on another long drive that proved fruitless and the half ended at 6-6.The Lynners took their only lead early in the fourth quarter when, after Targen Gensee picked off a Milford pass, Ishmile Bangura broke loose for a 43-yard run around right end to make it 12-6.That was the first of three straight electrifying touchdown runs. Unfortunately, the final two were from Milford. Luth got outside and took it 32 yards to the end zone to tie the score early in the fourth quarter, and, with 4:10 to go, he ran it in from the 46, tiptoeing down the far sideline and doing a pretty good balancing act to stay in bounds. Lynn had one last shot at it, but couldn’t get closer than the Milford 36.”We had it,” Robinson said, “and a couple of tough plays kept us from getting it.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].