Vikings overtake Sachems

By John Shimer
Staff writer

November 27, 2009 12:16 am

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BYFIELD — The Pentucket football team was not ready for the Blaise Whitman aerial assault.

In his first Thanksgiving start, the sophomore Triton quarterback put the Cape Ann League on notice for 2010 for what the future may hold. He passed for three touchdowns and 170 yards in a 28-6 Vikings' victory.

After moving the ball downfield effectively on the opening drive before stalling on the Pentucket 38-yard line, Whitman was able to finish off the second drive with a 6-yard throw to Mike Foley on third-and-2 at the Sachem 27 to keep the series going. He again found Foley from 14 yards out for the touchdown. On the two-point try, Whitman rolled out to the right and ran the ball in for the two-point conversion, 8-0.

Pentucket answered right away on the first play of the ensuing drive, as junior quarterback Mike Doud hit Austin Perreault in stride, bursting up the right seam before cutting to the left and running away from the Triton defensive backs for a 69-yard pitch and catch, 8-6.

With a heavy dose of Brendan O'Neil (98 yards) and Whitman (42 yards) rushing the ball, Triton (7-4) marched back down the field on a 14-play, 70-yard touchdown scoring drive. Again Whitman was key, as the Vikes had the ball with a fourth-and-6 at the Pentucket 8-yard line, finding Foley for an 8-yard TD hookup to cap the drive, 14-6.

Taking the ball deep into Triton territory to the 32, Pentucket (5-6) again appeared to have the response to tie the score before half. But on fourth-and-10, Derek Paquette sacked Doud, dropping the quarterback down at the Triton 45 to give the Vikes good field position with 1:16 left on the clock.

Whitman connected with Luke Miller for eight yards to start the drive before a 4-yard rush and an incompletion stopped the clock with only 0:39 seconds left at the Pentucket 44. On the next play, Whitman carved out the Sachem hearts with a back-shoulder throw to Miller, who turned back to the under-thrown pass, before breaking a tackle and racing 44 yards into the end zone, 20-6.

O'Neil put the exclamation point on an outstanding season and an outstanding career with a 1-yard TD on the Vikings' first drive of the second half. The touchdown was his 21st of the season — a school record — and also tied the school record for career TDs with 32. A pass from Whitman to Foley on the two-point conversion gave the Vikes the final margin, 28-6.

"I don't think they were ready for (our passing game). I think they were expecting more of a running game because that's what we've been doing for most of the season, but we just came out and gave it to them," Whitman said. "We threw a lot of short underneath balls. Mike (Foley) made two great plays, and Luke (Miller) saved me on another one."

The bye week gave Triton two weeks to prepare and work out the kinks in the passing game, and Triton looked razor sharp as Whitman completed 12 of his 18 passes (66.7 completion percentage) and was not sacked.

"We had the long layover, worked on the passing game a lot, and put a lot of time in," said Triton coach Jim O'Leary after his first Thanksgiving win with Triton. "The confidence gets there. We straightened out some of our blocking issues on passing, and we've got some athletes there. Sometimes you get into stacking the ball up and start pounding people. But today was a good idea for what the future lies for that kid.

"(Blaise) has just gradually gotten better and better and better, and I think today he made that big step to becoming the quarterback he's going to be for the next two years," O'Leary said. "You know we lose an O'Neil, but now you got a Whitman still here. It's pretty good. I'm excited for the next two years."

Playing on the last Triton to team to beat Pentucket as a freshman when his brother Brett was a senior, Foley said Whitman has the capability to be the best quarterback in the league next season.

"He's only a sophomore, but he has great abilities to be the best quarterback in the league next year not even his senior season," Foley said. "I'm thinking he'll be the top quarterback in the league next year."

Despite being undersized, Pentucket coach Steve Hayden said his group this year battled hard and was a fun bunch to coach.

"They just made some big plays," Hayden said of Triton. "We had some missed coverages, but some of it was that they just made nice plays, and that's the way it goes.

"(We) battled, and they've been good kids to coach," Hayden said. "They've worked hard on the practice field, and I think they've been good teammates. Today is a part of life, and that's the way it goes."