October 28, 2024 By Kevin Riordan
In the playoffs, the 8th grade Raiders convincingly beat Quincy 38-6 to advance to the Bay State League Super Bowl next Sunday in a re-match of last years game against Natick. Consistency is the sign of a great team as the Raiders once again dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to deliver an 8th straight double digit victory.
Ruling the first quarter has been the Raiders strength and on their first drive Evan Tomasello, Johhny Heller and Rhett Shevlin ran for first downs behind key blocks from Brooks Johnson, Will Berkeley, Frank Cavagnaro and Denny Costello. Operating out of the wildcat, Rhett Shevlin took the snap from Johnson and ran it 4 yards for a touchdown and the early 6-0 lead. Quincy responded with a double reverse pass good for a 43 yard gain into the red zone. The Raiders defense dug in as Frank Cavagnaro knifed through the line for a big sack then safety Hudson Garrity broke up a pass to stop Quincy’s drive. Benefitting from the defensive stop, Rhett Shevlin powered his way through several would be tacklers for an 83 yard touchdown with an extra point run by Neil Deininger the Raiders held a 13-0 lead. On defense Brayden Huber and Mason Aframe tackled the Quincy backs forcing a punt that Quincy muffed giving Hingham great field position at the 21 yard line. On the next snap QB Garrity threw a pass intended for his wideout Shamus Devine that was intercepted.
Starting the second quarter Cam Forger and Brayden Huber made tackles for losses and Cole Shevlin broke up a pass to force a quick 3 and out from Quincy. On the next snap QB Hudson Garrity threw a strike to Rhett Shevlin across the middle for a 31 yard TD and a 19-0 lead. The defense led by Shamus Devine, Cavagnaro, Huber, Duncan Wilder and Ryan Crespi stepped up to force another Quincy punt. The Raiders answered with another big run from Johhny Heller who slashed his way for a 29 yard gain. QB Garrity connected with Rhett Shevlin who followed a crushing block from Shamus Devine to run in for the TD. Shaking things up, lineman Denny Costello carried the ball in for the extra point to take a convincing 26-0 lead. The defense was relentless as Frank Cavagnaro sacked the QB, Cole Shevlin broke up a pass and Mason Aframe made a tackle to force another Quincy punt. With time running out in the first half QB Garrity stood in the pocket behind his blockers Will Taylor, Ezra Everly and Will Berkeley and threw a 33 yard TD pass to Cole Shevlin to take a 32-0 lead at halftime.
The second half was about ball control as Carter Karis and Ryan Fernquist followed key blocks from Asher Ellis, Jordan Owens-Ayala, John Peterson, Grant Riordan and Mason Devine to run for multiple first downs before Quincy stopped the drive. Quincy managed to score a late TD, but on the extra point Grant Riordan, Mickey Syp and Andrew Nolan tackled the RB in the backfield to limit them to 6 points. The Raiders were not done scoring as QB Neil Deininger faked a pass and followed the block from Braden Oun darting up the middle for a 41 yard gain. One play later Deininger sprinted to the pylon for a 14 yard touchdown to finish off the scoring and a 38-6 playoff victory. Up next a super bowl rematch with Natick.