Better late than never for the Shams

The Shamrocks got their act together just in time to pull out a 27-14 win over the Brooklyn Mariners in the USFA quarterfinals last night at a cold, windy and rainy Kelleher Field.

The Shamrocks, whose offense went on hiatus after the first quarter, turned two Brooklyn turnovers into touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come away with the win.

"I think that was our greatest team effort in quite a while," said Marlborough coach Bob Brennan. "The guys really hung together."

As usual, Marlborough's defense took care of things as Mario Perry recovered a fumble on Brooklyn's first drive of the game. Perry rumbled to the Mariners' 32-yard line to give the offense tremendous field position. With Dave Palazzi at the helm, the Shamrocks found the end zone just four plays later as Marlborough High grad Nick Boschetto scored from 4 yards out on a counter.

Brooklyn would answer the call on its next drive with a solid 12-play, 54-yard touchdown drive. It included four first downs and culminated with quarterback Jay Hawes nailing wide receiver Glenn Visco in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the score at seven with 13:07 left in the half.

Marlborough took over on its own 38 after the kickoff and received two bizarre, but very beneficial calls. When three plays went nowhere, Brennan ordered the punting team on the field. After the snap sailed past punter John Toyias' outstretched hands, the Mariners recovered the ball and ran it back for what seemed like the go-ahead touchdown.

After conferring at midfield, the referees ruled that Toyias had signaled for a timeout. With the Kelleher fans breathing a collective sigh of relief, the Shamrocks again prepared to punt. After Toyias unleashed a boomer he slipped on the muddy field and fell. A Brooklyn player who was rushing for the block also slipped and landed on the fallen punter. A roughing the kicker call was flagged and Marlborough started the drive over.

"I don't know about those two calls, but that's the way the game goes," said Brennan. "Fortunately they went our way."

Neither team could gain any ground after the calls and the score remained 7-7 going into the half.

The third quarter began with Wes Pugh fumbling the ball after Brooklyn defensive tackle Doug Richeter laid a huge hit on the fullback.

Brooklyn's offense took the cue from the defense and drove the ball deep into Shamrocks' territory. Facing a second-and-2 on the Marlborough 10, Mariner halfback Craig Fields fumbled the wet ball. It was picked up by defensive back Khalid Rucker and returned to the Brooklyn 40.

Brennan said the fourth quarter was "quite possibly the best quarter of football we have played all year."

Greg Moore intercepted a Hawes pass on the Mariners' first drive and Marlborough took 14 plays and almost eight minutes to move 50 yards for a score. Palazzi (10 for 16, 138 yards), who had misfired on his last five passes, converted on tosses of 9, 15 and 13 yards. Pugh then scored on a 9-yard draw.

"Our offense picked it up in the fourth," said Brennan. "We showed a lot of continuity and Dave (Palazzi) really stepped it up."

The game was in Marlborough's hands after that as the defense forced another fumble, this time recovered by linebacker Joe Johnson. The offense would again respond with a touchdown as Palazzi hit Darryl Thomas from 15 yards out to give the Shamrocks a 21-7 lead with 4:36 left.

Brooklyn would score a harmless touchdown on the next drive, which Palazzi answered with his second touchdown pass of the night. Brock Kreitzburg turned a short out pattern into a 25-yard TD to give the Shamrocks a 27-14 lead with under two minutes to play.

"We've played the Mariners eight times and the only time it hasn't been close is when we beat them when it was snowing out," commented Brennan. "Other than that they have played us really well."

The Shamrocks host Long Island next Saturday at Kelleher field and again will attempt to remain undefeated.

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