NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Musa Thompson’s late 64-yard touchdown catch secured McCann Tech’s 20-16 rivalry game win over Drury on Friday.
Thompson led the way for McCann with a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown, while quarterback Alex McDermott also had a rushing touchdown and one through the air.
It was a perfect night that filled the sidelines with both McCann Tech green and Drury blue as these two city rivals battled it out in the last game of the season. Both teams came into tonight's contest winless looking to end their season on a high note. Both teams battled in the first quarter, going on long drives grinding out the yards on the ground.
On the first series, McCann Tech was able to force Drury into a turnover, recovering a fumble just as Drury crossed midfield. The Hornets went on a drive of their own, stalling out around midfield as well after a big tackle for loss on third down. Drury’s next series found the end zone after a nice 14-play drive that stretched into the second quarter.
Quarterback Jameson Bayliss finished it off with the first pass of the game finding Max Griffin for a nice 19-yard touchdown catch to give Drury the 8-0 lead. It was all Drury in the first half forcing an interception by Zayne Kaley, but they were unable to put any points on the board and went into the halftime break up, 8-0.
In the second half it didn’t take long for McCann Tech to find the end zone, scoring on a quarterback keeper from Alex McDermott to tie it up at eight a piece. It seemed like McCann was finally going to get a hold on the game getting a big stop on defense, but on the next drive they gave the ball right back to Drury after fumbling it in their own red zone giving Drury great field position that they capitalized on three plays later with a Jameson Bayliss rushing touchdown to give them back the lead, 16-8.
After that score, the game shifted in McCann Tech’s favor as it went on another long drive that resulted in a Thompson rushing touchdown. And although the Hornets failed to convert th two-point conversion, you could sense things started to shift. After both teams got defensive stops it was McCann Tech’ss turn to win the turnover battle getting a crucial fumble recovery with just 2:16 left in the game.
A few plays later, Thompson scored the game-winning touchdown on a nice throw from Alex McDermott from 64 yards out, giving the Hornets their first lead of the game.
“We’ve been saying it all week we get into games and one hiccup our heads go down, we just need to learn to leave those plays behind,” McCann Tech head coach Jon Rochelo said. “They did a great job with that today, we had young guys step up to help these seniors out but we just played well at heart and that’s what it came down to.”
With less two minutes left in the game Drury tried for the comeback, getting the ball all the way down inside their own 15-yard line. Bayliss picked up a crucial third down using his legs to escape the pocket and gave Drury a few more chances at the end zone. It was that heart on defense from McCann that closed the door after Marquis Moody intercepted the ball on the 5-yard line to seal the deal for McCann in this city rivalry.
“The turnout for both schools is exactly what you want,” Rochelo said. “Drury is a hell of a ball club, they have good talent and good coaching, but we knew it was going to be a dog fight and needed to be mentally prepared for it.
“We have some youth and they need this, it was a big win for them.”
McCann finishes the season 1-7 but with a promising future with first-year head coach Jon Rochelo and a group of young players eager to build on this season.
