MARION — For a brief moment Saturday, Tabor Academy’s football team found itself in a position it hadn’t been in much this season – trailing in the second half.
However, with a talent like Peter Bourque under center, the game is never over. The Michigan commit finished with 232 yards passing to go with 70 yards rushing, accruing five total touchdowns as the Seawolves rallied from a two-score deficit before pulling away for a convincing 39-21 victory over St. Sebastian’s.
“We had a couple of screwups in the first half,” Bourque said. “Came out probably a little bit slow. We weren’t ready to go. But in the second half, coach (Jeff) Moore told us what we needed to fix. Then we came out there, and we came out flying. Our defense did a great job, forcing turnovers. Then our offense, we executed.”
This NEPSAC bout started off with plenty of sparks, as Tabor opted to use a no-huddle offense on the game’s opening drive. Looking to remain perfect, the Seawolves (7-0) marched right up the field in short order. In the red zone, Bourque lateraled the ball to sophomore running back Luke Fickeisen, who scampered home for a six-yard touchdown rush to give his team a 6-0 lead 1:58 into action.
However, St. Sebastian’s (3-4) responded later in the frame. After the Seawolves turned it over on downs midway through the opening quarter, the Arrows capitalized on a short field, as David Hahm capped an abbreviated drive with a 10-yard touchdown scamper, with David Greaney hitting the extra point try to provide the Arrows a 7-6 edge with 3:38 left in the first.
Then, a defensive chess match began. The schools traded scores in the second quarter, with St. Sebastian’s clinging to a 14-12 halftime lead.
With Arrows quarterback Duke Ciongoli forced to leave the game (hand injury), St. Sebastian’s put its fate in backup Ryan Mutryn. After an interception by Brendan McHugh set the Arrows up at the opposing 25, Mutryn connected with Tedy Frisoli for an 8-yard touchdown pass. Suddenly, Tabor found itself trailing 21-12 with 7:09 to play in the third.
As fast as one could blink, however, the Seawolves turned the tide. After Landen O’Neil gave Tabor possession with a critical interception, Bourque fired a 55-yard touchdown strike to Alexander Odenyo, cutting the deficit to 21-19 with 5:03 left in the third.
Just 1:04 later, Brady Scott came up with another interception for the Seawolves, setting them up with a short field once again. Bourque finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 1:55 left in the frame, and Tabor had its first lead of the game at 26-21.
As the game wore on, the Arrows continued to make costly mistakes. On their next play from scrimmage, a mishandled toss in the backfield from Mutryn to Hahm led to a fumble, and the Seawolves were quick to pounce on it at the St. Sebastian’s 6. Seconds later, Bourque scampered in for another one-yard touchdown rush, and the Tabor lead ballooned to 32-21 with 1:08 to go in the quarter.
By the time the third quarter concluded, the Seawolves had rallied with 20 unanswered points. They would tack on one more touchdown in the final frame with Bourque’s third touchdown rush (also from one yard out), icing the game.
With a NEPSAC Class B bowl bid already locked up, Tabor turns its attention to next week. The Seawolves will face longtime rival BB&N to close the regular season. The winner of that matchup will get to host the bowl game itself when the postseason begins.
“I say to our staff that we’re the toughest team to play for 48 straight minutes,” Moore said. “We have a really resilient group. We’re deep. Our linemen are tenacious. They’ve got the ability to play for all four quarters and not be tired. We feel really confident that we can play with the same juice in the fourth quarter that we did the first two series of the game. I think that’s the toughest thing when people play us, you’ve got to be ready to play a full 48.”
