In a game with the Longmeadow Lancers, the CM Knights came away victorious for their fourth win of the season on a heart palpitating 35-33 win.
The first quarter was dominated by the Lancers as they scored two quick touchdowns to start the game, a Keshaudus Spence touchdown put CM behind 13-7 heading into the second quarter.
CM took the lead late in the second quarter on another
Keshaudus Spence touchdown. Ahead 14-13, the Knights came up with an enormous goal line stop with 5 seconds left in the first half.
In the third quarter, the Knights added to their lead when AJ Doyle hit Cam Williams with a bullet for a 55 yard touchdown. This put the knights ahead 21-13, it looked like the Knights were ready to pull away judging by the momentum on the Knights side and the defeated body language of the Lancers.
The fourth quarter was as eventful and tense as any fourth quarter in CM history. The Lancers scored early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 21-19 after a failed two point conversion. CM turned the ball over with 10:29 left in the quarter which lead to another Longmeadow touchdown, once the Lancers completed a two point conversion they found themselves up 27- 21 with about six minutes remaining. It looked as if CM was in serious trouble, they were having severe difficulties running the ball at that point and it seemed as if the air had been let out of their balloon. The Knights showed tremendous grit and determination in the following minutes. Quarterback AJ Doyle ran for a first down on a big third and ten play. A few plays later Lorenzo Warren ran for a first down with 2:35 remaining on a third and one. This is where Warren took over, the next play Warren ran for a 22 yard touchdown and after an extra point from Tom Byrnes, CM re-claimed the lead at 28-27. On the third play of the Lancers next drive Warren made a diving interception to give the Knights the ball back. But his heroics wouldn't end there, Warren then broke a 47 yard touchdown run to put CM up 35-27. So the game is over right? Wrong. The Lancers produced a incredible desperation 49 yard touchdown to keep themselves in the game, down two with 18 seconds left. This is it, the two point conversion which would likely force an overtime. The Lancers decided to run a full back blast up the middle which was stuffed at the line of scrimmage to give CM their fourth win of the season.
This game was a gut check for CM, for the first time this season the Knights had their backs against the wall late in the fourth quarter. As a unit CM showed tremendous poise and put an end to what could have been a magical night in Longmeadow. The Longmeadow Lancers will definitely be hurting over this game for awhile, but they should definitely find solace in the fact that they earned the respect of everyone there. There was not an ounce of quit in the Lancers and they pushed CM to the limit. Now 4-0, CM looks to continue their charge for the playoffs as they head to Nashua, New Hampshire, to go toe to toe with the Bishop Guertin Cardinals next friday night.
Mike Slonina '11
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