Somerville Youth Football has earned its opportunity to challenge the Stoneham Spartans for a shot at the championship.

By Tom Bannister

This past September, Somerville Youth Football’s freshman team (Grades 3 and 4) coached by Kevin Prophete, kicked off their 2014 season with a great start.

The high powered offense led by (Quarterback) Darnell Pierre, (Full backs) Calvin Pierre and Jamal Carter, (Tail backs) Jayden Prophete and Jassad Fenton, (Receivers) James Kalogeropoulos and Austin Pereira had no trouble finding the end zone. Of course, none of that would have been possible without the huge push from the guys up front.

The offensive line starred (Center) Andrew Bonny, (Guards) Devin Coneeny and Liam Bartlett, (Tackles) Dickenson Azor and Jayden Smith, (Tight ends) Haylon Cummings and Kyle Ray. They were challenged with many great Defenses and as a team they ended the regular season with a total of 179 points and a record of 6-3 (No.3). However, the Offense wasn’t their only weapon. With the help of Elijah Lee-Robinson’s 20+ sacks this season, the Highlander defense set a record low of only 31 points allowed in a regular season.

This past Sunday, the Highlanders starred in their first playoff appearance as they traveled to Hormel Stadium to challenge the (No.2) Medford Mustangs. From the opening Kickoff lead by Kauan Damasceno, both teams battled up and down the field but couldn’t find the end zone, keeping the score locked at 0-0. It wasn’t until Somerville’s Lamar Lawson opened the second half with a huge run to boost Somerville’s chances at scoring, but that was quickly shut down by costly penalties that set them back to midfield.

As regular time expired, the game went into overtime. Both teams battled intensely into triple overtime. Somerville’s Darnell Pierre was finally able find the end zone rushing 7 yards for the score. Medford was given the chance on offense to tie the score and force a fourth overtime. With fourth and inches to the goal, Somerville’s defense did what they had done all game long, making the goal line stop to give the Highlanders their first Championship appearance.

On Sunday, November 16 at 10:30 a.m., the Somerville Highlanders will host the Stoneham Spartans at Dilboy Stadium for the Commonwealth Youth Football Freshman Championship. All are welcome to cheer the Highlanders to victory.