NEWBURYPORT | After coming off a season that saw the Triton football team sink lower than USS Indianapolis by finishing the 2007 season with a Cape Ann league Large worse 1-10 record, the boys in blue have exploded onto the scene, smashing all naysayers with a resounding defensive assault.
The Vikings edged out the Newburyport Clippers 6-0 last night at World War Memorial Stadium in Newburyport in a contest that was more of a resistance-laden melee than a high-scoring affair.
With both teams showcasing legitimate defensive prowess, the game was deadlocked all the way up until the 3:26 mark in the fourth quarter, which was precisely the time senior-captain Sam Ferrara, a quarterback with a cornerback mentality, crashed, danced, and eventually swooped head over heels into the end zone.
The touchdown would have never occurred if it wasn't for a passionate defensive group and an asserting Nick DeFrancesco reaching in for a drive-nullifying and game-changing interception.
With the game in reach, the Vikings were prepared to do what coach Jim O'Leary and company have systematically designed them to do: execute knuckle-splitting defense.
The next four downs following the touchdown were a nightmare for the Clippers, as Newburyport continued to give away yardage. Three of those downs were bent under the will of tenacious senior Rob West, a defensive end who brought down Clipper quarterback Joe Clancy on third and fourth downs.
Once that was done, Triton kneeled away the clock, and a last ditch effort by the Clippers was negated by a swarm of ravenous Vikings.
The Vikings have matched their win total from last year. And they did it with heart, unity, and perseverance.
Newburyport coach Ed Gaudiano wasn't about to make any excuses for his team.
"We just didn't play well and you have to give them credit," said Gaudiano, whose team will be playing Saugus next Saturday (1 p.m.). "They're a good, hard-hitting football team and they showed up very similar to how we did.
"This was a very typical Triton-Newburyport football game, but really what it came down to was who was going to make the first mistake. And unfortunately it was us," said Gaudiano.
The Triton sideline was a corridor of relief, but one that was also alive with excitement and the thrill of starting a winning streak. Newburyport beat Triton, 26-0, last fall en route to a 7-4 season. O'Leary could be seen after the win celebrating with friends and family.
"The kids were ready and they worked hard for this," said O'Leary. "This was mission number one and we accomplished it. Everyone was primed, the kids believe in our coaches, and basically we out-toughed them, we wore them down and we did everything we could.
"Sam Ferrara is the leader on both sides of the field and with guys like Robbie West coming off the end, that guy was running for his life the whole night," said O'Leary. "Don't get me wrong, they have a great team over there, but hey, we're the better one tonight."
A visibly psyched Ferrara was lucid in explaining what the initial victory meant.
"That was one of the best games I've ever played in my life. That was better than the Pentucket game two years ago," recalled Ferrara. "This is a huge confidence booster and we're going to try and run over every team in our path. If we come out with the same intensity every game, it's more than possible."
His scrambling teammate West is set to make his final season one that, win or lose, teams won't forget the experience.
"They didn't know what we were about. We're a tough team now," said West. "It all came down to who wanted it more and we came out tougher, we came out victorious, we wanted it, and it's going to be like that for the rest of the year."
