NEW BEDFORD – Tri-County’s football program has battled adversity off the field all season.
The Cougars overcame it all and Declan Walker was a hero on Wednesday. The senior quarterback completed 5-of-11 passes for 149 yards, finishing with a pair of touchdowns to shatter two school single-season records as the Cougars captured their second straight Vocational Bowl title with a 28-6 romp of Blue Hills.
“Honestly, it meant everything,” said Tri-County coach Andy Gomes. “You never want to make excuses. These kids didn’t make any excuses. It didn’t matter that we didn’t have a field. It didn’t matter that we don’t have much of a practice field. They just showed up, and worked every single day. It means everything to this group, my first four-year group. As a coach, you always want what’s best for them. They worked their butts off to get here. They’re good football players, but they’re even better young men. That’s what we want out of this program.”
Throughout the fall, Tri-County didn’t have its own venue to call home. With its school undergoing construction, the Cougars played games at Xaverian Brothers High School and trained at a variety of practice sites. Some weren’t the best, but they still found a way back to Jeffrey E. Riley Stadium at Greater New Bedford on Wednesday, vying for another piece of hardware in the MVADA’s expanded tournament.
The bout was a rematch of last year’s 2024 MVADA Small championship, which Tri-County won in a 36-30 nail-biter. This time around, the Cougars (11-1) decided to take a chance right out of the gate. Facing fourth down at midfield, Walker fired a dart over the middle. The pass was hauled in by junior wideout Ashton Reich, who found a seam and sprinted free for a 46-yard touchdown reception to provide his team a 7-0 lead just 1:55 into action.
The score would hold until late in the second quarter, as Tri-County found itself at the Blue Hills 19. Walker proceeded to evade pressure as he danced to his right. The Warriors bit defensively, allowing the senior quarterback to lob a toss right over the top to O’Brien for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Just like that, the Cougars had a 14-0 advantage with 3:29 to go in the half.
Later on in the third quarter, Tri-County decided to go into its bag of tricks with a wildcat play. Standing in at quarterback, O’Brien took the snap, then scampered past a series of tacklers for a 35-yard touchdown rush, as the Cougars pushed their lead to 21-0 with 3:10 remaining in the frame.
Blue Hills (8-5) got on the board with a nine-yard touchdown rush by Kinyanso Olanrewaju with 10:52 left in regulation, but that was as much as the Warriors could muster. The Cougars sealed the deal late with an 85-yard interception return for a score by Jordan Pedro, making it a 28-6 final.
Two years ago, Walker lost his father when he passed away from an illness. On Wednesday, he finished his Tri-County career as a two-time vocational champion, tearing up as his family cheered him on. As his teammates and fellow coaches celebrated, Gomes tossed the senior the game ball as they all roared on. He eclipsed 30 touchdowns and 2,000 passing yards on the season in the win, breaking two Tri-County high-water marks.
“It just means so much to me,” Walker said. “This has been a dream for me ever since I was a little kid. My mom used to be an athletic trainer at North Attleboro High School, and I grew up with a winning football program on that sideline. That was always a dream for me – to go out and win a state championship for my family, for my brothers here.”
