ATHOL — A late comeback bid came up short for the Athol High School football team Friday night, as the Red Raiders fell to Gardner High School in their home opener at O’Brien Field, 21-14.
Trailing 21-6 just three seconds into the fourth quarter — following a 12-play, 56-yard Gardner drive that started halfway through the third and ended on a one-yard Dylan Zarozinski plunge into the end zone on the first play of the final frame — the Athol offense went on its longest sustained drive of the night.
Starting at its own 14-yard line, Athol leaned on its big running back Robbie Nelson, who ran for the 39 yards and caught a Trever Mousseau pass for another 7 on the drive. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the seven-plus minute series ended in vain as Athol failed to convert a fourth-and-seven from the Gardner 25, and Athol had to punt with just 3:44 remaining in the contest.
While things looked just about finished for the Raiders, they had other ideas, as the defense forced a quick three-and-out, and the Wildcats had to punt the ball from their own 32. The snap went high, and while Gardner was able to cover the ball at its own 9, the Raiders took over on downs.
After a 5-yard run by Nelson and a quick 30 second time out, Mousseau handed the ball to running back Nick Casella, who went straight up the middle for the four-yard score. Nelson followed with the two-point conversion, and with 1:55 left, Athol had life, trailing by just seven.
The Raiders lined up and dribbled an onside kick that didn’t travel the necessary 10 yards, but Athol was bailed out by an offsides call against Gardner that made it offsetting penalties, and the Raiders would get one more try. The next kick was better, but the Wildcats swarmed to the ball and covered it up, sealing the win for Gardner.
“We had to go for the onside kick there,” said Athol head coach Bill LaRose. “We just didn’t have enough time or enough time-outs to kick it deep. They bailed us out with the offsides call on the first kick, and did a good job to come up with it on the re-kick.”
The game began with Gardner deferring the opening kickoff to the second half, with Athol’s opening drive sputtering at the Wildcat 40-yard line. The punt went deep, and Gardner’s Josh Correa had the ball bounce off his hands, where it was hopped on by Athol’s Tyler Lutz. One play later, Mousseau dove into the end zone for a 6-0 advantage with 8:22 remaining in the opening stanza.
The lead would last until the 6:48 mark of the second quarter, when Gardner’s featured running back Zarozinski rambled 15 yards down the right sideline, capping a 9-play, 78-yard drive. Zarozinski, who is also the place kicker for Gardner, then put the extra point through the uprights for the 7-6 lead.
Gardner would strike again as time expired in the first half. Facing a third-and-goal at the Athol 1-yard line with less than a minute remaining, the Wildcats called a sweep to the right for Zarozinski, who ended up going backward and was tackled for a 12-yard loss. With time running down, Gardner did not call a time out, and the Athol defense appeared to be a little confused. The Wildcats snapped the ball with a second to go in the half, and quarterback Xavier Vargas dropped back and hit Zarozinski in the left corner of the end zone for the score. The point after was good, and a stunned Red Raiders squad hit the locker room trailing 14-6.
Athol had just one possession in the third, capped off by a Mousseau interception that led to the late third/early fourth quarter scoring drive for the Wildcats that would be the difference.
“It was a tough loss, but I’m proud of the way our kids played,” said LaRose. “It was old school 1955 Athol-Gardner football. We just came up a little short.”
Athol looks to put its first win of the year on the board next week when it hosts Monument Mountain Friday at 7.