Red Devils burned by Red Raiders, 49-14
Published October 25, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider football team continues its unbeaten streak and improved to 6-0 after a 49-14 thrashing of Burlington.
Melrose scored 42 points in the second and third quarters behind the work of senior captain Chris Cusolito, who had three touchdowns over the night, while senior captain Billy Pesce scored two. Tonight, Melrose hosts Watertown in their last regular-season game. Playoffs will begin next Friday with Melrose sure to host their rival.
Burlington brought to the field a talented quarterback in senior Khyle Pena, who kept the game competitive in the first quarter. Melrose scored on their first possession on a Billy Pesce run into the end zone, set up by a series of first down scrambles by quarterback Brendan Fennell, and Melrose was on the board, 7-0.
Kicker Zac Federico was perfect for the night, going 7 for 7 in PAT attempts.
Burlington got on board to make it a 7-6 game at the end of the first when Pena connected with Shawn Pinkham in the end zone, but Melrose wouldn’t give up another point until late in the fourth. On Melrose’s next possession, Matt Hickey had a big 20 yard first down run and the Red Raider’s drained the clock on a 16 play drive that culminated in a Cusolito touchdown.
Burlington’s Pena looked sharp all night until he was picked off by Sean Herbert who ran it all the way to the Burlington 20. Fennell hoofed it into the end zone and it was 21-6. Billy Pesce was a workhorse before halftime, running for a series of first downs that helped set up another Cusolito touchdown. By halftime, it was 28-6. The third quarter wasn’t much better for Burlington. Cusolito struck again when he ran untouched for 42 yards into the end zone and Melrose was up 35-6.
Charles Haggerty had Melrose fans on their feet with a pick 6, a 60-yard touchdown return that gave Melrose a massive 42-6 lead. Coach Tim Morris utilized his sideline and Melrose saw some quality work including QB duties from Jesse Gardner and Trevor Botto and the running game of Jake Rowe. Burlington scored one more touchdown with another Pena pass to Pinkham for a final score of 49-14.
After the game, coach Tim Morris credited his team’s early defensive efforts.
“We got our run game going, made some plays on defense to keep them from scoring,” he said. “They [Burlington] were going pretty good on the first couple of series and we were able to get a couple of picks and stop them. I think our running game was key—Pesce, Hickey and Cusolito, they bring a lot to the table. And our line played well too against some big players.”
At 6-0 Melrose certainly is in the driver’s seat as they head towards the Div. 4 North playoffs. They remain a top 10 ranked team and a favorite to win the division, with 6-0 Revere a sudden dark horse challenger.
Says Morris, “Being undefeated, this is what we worked towards, the kids are working hard and even after some convincing wins you need to stay focused. That’s what they are doing.”
Tonight Melrose hosts Watertown (2-4) at Fred Green Field at 7:00 p.m. MIAA Div. 4 North seedings should be released on or about Oct. 27.
Div. 4N Power Ratings (source: MIAA)
W/L own opp power ranking
1 Melrose 6 0 66 48.00 19.00
2 Revere 6 0 66 48.00 19.00
3 N. Reading 6 0 62 42.00 17.33
4 Marblehead 5-1 56 33.00 14.83
5 Wayland 4-1 42 28.20 14.04
6 Wakefield 3 3 32 35.00 11.17
7 Dracut 3-3 36 27.00 10.50
8 Burlington 3-3 34 26.00 10.00
9 Wilmington 2-4 20 32.40 8.73
10 B. Latin 1-5 10 28.60 6.43
11 Gloucester 0-6 0 26.60 4.43