ORANGE — With 73 yards to go and 26.5 seconds remaining in the first half, most teams would likely take a knee and carry the 7-6 lead into the break that Mahar Regional School held on McCann Technical School Friday night during the season-opener for both teams.
But Senators’ coach Jim Woodward had other ideas.
Three plays and 24 seconds later, Mahar was in the end zone celebrating. The Senators carried that momentum into the second half en route to a 20-12 victory at the Woodward Complex.
Both teams slugged it out through much of the first half and it appeared that the Senators (1-0) were going to take a one-point lead into the break after breaking up a 2-point conversion pass on the Hornets’ lone touchdown of the half with 6 minutes, 2 seconds remaining to pull within 7-6.
When Mahar fumbled on the ensuing possession, McCann appeared to have a chance to take the lead as it drove to the Senators’ 27. But Mahar’s defense stopped the Hornets on fourth down and took over at its own 27 with 26.5 seconds remaining.
A 14-yard run by Jacob Tenney moved the ball to the Senators’ 41, and a 19-yard run by quarterback Noaha Chabot on the next play moved the ball to the Hornets’ 40. On the very next play, Chabot dropped back to pass and lofted a perfect toss into the hands of Ayden Sevigny, who had gotten free well behind the Hornets’ defense and caught the ball in stride before running untouched into the end zone. The extra-point kick was blocked but Mahar took a 13-6 lead into the break.
Mahar also received the second-half kick and carried the momentum it gained at halftime to build on its lead. The Senators began at midfield and needed six plays to march 50 yards, with Chabot hitting Tenney with a 10-yard touchdown pass three minutes into the third quarter to complete the drive. Kyle Notre kicked his second extra point of the night to give Mahar a 20-6 lead.
McCann did not go away and made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter. The Hornets used a 12-play, 74-yard drive to get into the end zone as quarterback Darian Tovani hit Darius Tovani with an 18-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-11 with 2:51 to play in the game. Jason Knapp kicked the conversion wide right, but the Hornets were within a score.
The only issue was that the scoring drive began with 36 seconds left in the third quarter and took over nine minutes off the clock. When Mahar took the ball back, it needed just one first down before Chabot began taking a knee to finish off the win.
Neither team was able to get on the board in the first quarter but Mahar went into the second quarter with a first-and-goal from the Hornets’ 5 and two plays later Tenney was rumbling into the end zone from three yards out. McCann punted on its next possession, but the Senators fumbled it and the Hornets set up at Mahar’s 30. Five plays later, David Delisle scored on a run from 11 yards out. The Hornets faked a conversion kick but the pass was thrown incomplete to keep Mahar in front by a point.
Tenney led Mahar with 96 yards on 15 carries, while Chabot completed 6-of-8 passes for 92 yards.
McCann wound up losing Delisle in the second quarter to an injury and it was costly, as the big running back had gained 40 yards on just five runs to that point. Josh Brazeau led the Hornets with 47 yards on the ground, while Darius Tovani rushed for 46 yards. Tovani also caught two passes for 22 yards.