Fairhaven football enjoys redemption with second title in three years
by Laurie Los Lee Standard-Times Sports Editor
FOXBORO — Last year’s loss to Hudson in the Super Bowl fueled Fairhaven High running back Ian Alexion and the rest of the Blue Devils football teammates over the last 12 months.
“After I left this field last year, it’s been a goal of mine to make it back here and show everyone what we can do,” the senior said. Mission accomplished.
Behind a dominant ground attack led by Alexion and fellow senior Grant Darmofal, the No. 3 Blue Devils knocked off top-seeded Norwell, 28-14, on Thursday, Dec. 4 in the MIAA Div. 6 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.
It was Fairhaven’s second state championship in the past three years.
“This is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” Alexion said. “Sophomore was awesome, winning it, but going out my senior year and winning it with my boys for the town, it’s one of the best feelings.”
“This is a group of kids that wanted to get back here,” said Fairhaven High coach Derek Almeida. “I’m not surprised when we got here, they played really well. They’re tough kids. They’re gritty.
“I think it’s a good group of kids that really cares about each other. These kids are going to be best friends for life. We’re just along for the ride as coaches. It’s just a special group. I’m glad I got to share it with them.”
Like they have done all season, the Blue Devils (12-1) got it done on the ground.
Alexion carried the ball 19 times for 182 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns while Darmofal had a team-high 192 yards on 26 carries and 2 touchdowns.
“We really worked hard and we played as a team and that’s what got us here,” Alexion said.
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“They’ve been our workhorses all year,” said Almeida of Alexion and Darmofal. “They just run hard and they get tough yards when we need it. We leaned on our offensive line tonight.
“They work hard and they deserve it. Sometimes you have the talent, but they don’t have the work ethic, but this group was good at football, they cared about each other and they worked really hard together. I’m proud of them and I’m glad I got to share this moment with them.”
After a back-and-forth first half, Fairhaven took control in the second half, out-scoring the Clippers 14-0.
“We knew all along that we had to take away three things — the dive, the quarterback (runs) and the pitch,” said Norwell coach Jason Pithie, whose team finished the year 9-4. “Unfortunately, we did a really good job on the pitch and the quarterback and the dive was kind of what killed us. Credit to (Fairhaven coach) Derek (Almeida). He does a great job and knows what he's doing. Ultimately, they executed and we couldn't finish on offense. Our offense, today, struggled.”
Alexion scored on Fairhaven’s opening drive of the third quarter on a 6-yard run to put the Blue Devils ahead 20-14.
“We kind of just locked in and got it done,” Darmofal said.
Darmofal put the game out of reach with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter when he scored on a 6-yard run and added the 2-point conversion.
It was a surreal moment for Darmofal, who has enjoyed a breakthrough season with a SouthCoast-leading 21 touchdowns.
“I never would have thought I’d get the ball in high school football,” Darmofal said. “As a freshman, I never touched the field even on the freshmen team to become who I am today running the ball, it’s insane. I really never would have thought I would have done it.”
FAIRHAVEN'S DEFENSE DELIVERS
Fairhaven turned over the ball twice in the second half and both times, the Blue Devils came up with big stops on the defensive end to hold the Clippers out of the end zone in the game’s final 24 minutes.
“Their quarterback is an unbelievable player,” said Almeida of Norwell’s Jack Luccarelli, who had 218 yards on 23 carries. “They scored a lot of points all year. We kind of started out and we had all these ideas of things we were going to do and they just settled in on being sound and playing base and using good technique and playing with good leverage.
“When you’re battle tested and the kids have experience, they move on. Just because we put one on the ground, it doesn’t mean we can’t get a stop on defense.”
With Fairhaven up 20-14 early in the fourth quarter, senior Aaron Lague intercepted a pass from Luccarelli, setting up a 12-play, 74-yard scoring drive for the Blue Devils.
“That was huge,” Almeida said of Lague’s pick. “He’s such a good tackler and such a good football player. We knew we’d have to play him deep a little bit in the game and he made a great play on the ball and went up and got it. That was the game-changing play I think.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first quarter, both teams found the end zone twice in the second quarter.
Darmofal capped a 92-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to give Fairhaven a 6-0 lead with 9:32 left in the quarter.
The Clippers responded 15 seconds later when Luccarelli broke free for a 65-yard scoring scamper down the right sideline. The PAT by sophomore Connor Woodland put Norwell out front 7-6.
After stopping Norwell on fourth down in the red zone on its next possession, Fairhaven marched down the field 82 yards and scored on a 1-yard run by Alexion. Darmofal ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Blue Devils a 14-7 advantage with 58 seconds left in the first half.
Norwell once again answered quickly as Luccarelli connected with Teddy Glynn on a 21-yard scoring strike to send the teams into halftime tied at 14.
SPECIAL MOMENT
Fairhaven High senior quarterback Evan Lamontagne went over to shake the hand of Luccarelli, who was injured late in the game and couldn't walk the postseason handshake line. As Lamontagne walked away, he told Luccarelli, a junior, "Next Year."
Luccarelli had a hand in both of Norwell's touchdowns, rushing for one and throwing for the other. He finished the season 38 total touchdowns — 31 rushing and 7 passing.
FAIRHAVEN 28, NORWELL 14
Scoring
First Quarter
None
Second Quarter
F: Grant Darmofal 3 run (kick failed), 9:32
N: Jack Luccarelli 65 run (Connor Woodland kick), 9:17
F: Ian Alexion 1 run (Grant Darmofal run), :58
N: Teddy Glynn 21 pass from Jack Luccarelli (Connor Woodland kick), :31
Third Quarter
F: Ian Alexion 6 run (run failed), 9:20
Fourth Quarter
F: Grant Darmofal 6 run (Grant Darmofal run), 4:51