Cape Cod Tech prevails, 20-0
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
The Cape Cod Tech Crusaders showed the island crowd why they are a team to reckon with in the Mayflower Large on Friday night, as they controlled the ball, and the momentum of the game, to make the 20 points they scored in the second period hold up through the remainder of the contest.

It was Nantucket's first home game of the season, and Whalers fans and returning alumni greeted each other after the summer rush with the relaxed attitude of fall. The Friday night game was played under the lights, which were turned on even with a 5:30 p.m. start because of an increasing mist that threatened to shroud the field in fog by game's end.

Undaunted neither by Cape Tech's size, nor by its offensive might that netted the Crusaders 62 points in its first two contests, the Whalers matched up well with the larger team in the early going. As it did at Southeastern the week before, Nantucket went confidently to the air for much of the game, hoping to spread the Cape Tech defense and find some room to maneuver.

The Whalers threatened to score in the first period, when runs by David Loveberry and Hunter Day were sandwiched between a nice pass play to Josh Butler, putting the ball within striking distance of the endzone. A Loveberry three-yard run gave the Whalers a first down on the Cape Tech 24 yard line, but Nantucket fumbled on the next play, giving Cape Tech the ball to begin the second stanza.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent The Whalers were given a chance to score when Cape Cod Tech's Ryan St. Pierre grabbed Josh Butler's facemask (top) at the end of the first half. Jordan Ferreira looks for daylight (above) but gets corralled by a Cape Tech defensive duo.

The Whaler defense, meanwhile, loomed large throughout and kept Cape Tech scoreless until the midway point of the second period, helped by a fumble recovery of its own.

The visitors got on the board on a first down, 32-yard touchdown pass play from Mike Hamilton to Jake Roderick, as Roderick ran a fade route in the end zone. The Nantucket defense again came up big, stopping Hamilton on the conversion try.

At 6-0, Cape Tech was catchable, but Nantucket fumbled on a reverse on its next possession, inadvertently setting up the Crusaders' next score. Recovering the ball on the Nantucket 14 yard line, Cape Tech ran the ball three times, with Sebastian Passini rumbling over the goal line at the three minute mark. The conversion toss was good for the 14-0 lead.

Cape Tech scored again on its next possession when, with just 7.5 seconds left in the half, Hamilton again found Roderick for a 9-yard touchdown play. The Whaler defense bore down to stop the conversion, and Nantucket would have one more crack at the endzone before the half ended.

With just seconds remaining, quarterback Chris Welch found Butler on the right sideline and the receiver took off for the endzone. He was wrestled down near the 25-yard line and the period would have ended but a Cape Tech defender blatantly grabbed Butler's facemask. A period cannot end on a defensive penalty, so the Whalers had one shot for a touchdown from the 10. Butler was the intended receiver on the play that fell incomplete in the end zone.

Nantucket came out gunning in the second half, picking up two first downs on a march downfield, including a gutsy, fourth down rush from the 9 yard line. The Whalers could not advance past midfield, however, and were forced to punt. From there, Cape Tech chewed up the clock, handing the ball to running back Mike Trabucco, who picked up 100 yards overall on 28 carries.

The Whalers' passing game saw steady improvement, as the team racked up 93 yards through the air.

Cape Tech improved to 3-0 on the season, with Diman Vo-Tech being the lone team to score against them (6 points) so far.

"I thought that we played better against Cape Cod Tech then we did against Southeastern," coach Vito Capizzo said afterwards. "I have to give Chris Welch a lot of credit - he sticks his nose in there."

The injuries, however, continue to mount. Delroy Lawrence, who played well against Southeastern before getting hurt late in that contest, missed this week's game and will most likely not see action against Bristol-Plymouth. Eric Hughes, seeing his first action of the year against Cape Tech, is questionable for this week. Josh Butler took a knee to his head late in the Cape Tech game, and will also miss the Bristol-Plymouth game. Out for the season is middle linebacker Jake Molloy, who suffered an ACL tear in his left knee in preseason practice. He will undergo surgery at Children's Hospital in Boston next month and will be out of action for five months. David Loveberry, who left the Cape Tech game with an injury, will be able to play this Friday night.

"We've never had this many injuries before," Capizzo said Monday. "I have to put players at unknown positions."

The team is young and still learning to play as a unit. "I'd just like to give them more confidence by putting a couple of points on the board. But I've got to be patient with them."

This week's game against 2-0 Bristol Plymouth is at the high school field at 5 p.m. Note that next week's game at Matignon (Oct. 6) will be played at 2:30 p.m., and not 1 p.m. as

scheduled, because of SATs. I