Old Rochester Regional High School’s football team returned home on Friday, picking up a dominant 40-13 win over Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. The win was a massive change from the Bulldogs’ first home game where they lost to Dartmouth, 24-7, a loss that head coach Bryce Guilbeault said provided motivation heading into his team’s second home game of the season.
“We only had that one game at home, and we were disappointed, not with the effort but with the result,” Guilbeault said. “Every time we play at home we got a good crowd, good fans, and we wanted to make sure we took care of business.”
While the Bulldogs did go on to take care of business, it wasn’t without early adversity. The visiting Bears started the game with an onside kick which they recovered, leading to an early touchdown. “You never want to start the game that way, but it’s a long game,” Guilbeault said. “We knew that as long as we cut back and settled down that we’d be okay.”
Old Rochester immediately responded, with quarterback Noah Sommers running 50 yards for a touchdown on the following drive.
The Bears found themselves in the end zone one more time in the first quarter, missing the extra point, and after another scoring drive from the Bulldogs brought the game to 14-13, what looked to be a competitive game took a sharp turn in ORR’s favor.
“We’ve got a big, physical offensive line,” said Guilbeault. “I think they just started wearing those guys down a little bit.”
The rest of the game was a Bulldogs fan’s dream. Sommers ran for yet another touchdown, Jacksen Martin rushed for two, and Harrison Hughes also found himself in the end zone.
The crowd erupted with seconds left in the second quarter when Hughes intercepted a pass. Two turnovers in the third quarter, followed by two fumbles being recovered in the fourth, kept Voc-Tech far away from scoring and sealed the win for Old Rochester.
The 4-1 Bulldogs will next host Somerset Berkley on Friday, October 22, at 7:00 pm.
Golf
The undefeated Bulldogs (13-0) went to Bay Pointe Country Club on Friday and left Onset with the South Coast Conference championship. The Bulldogs finished with a top-four, 18-hole aggregate score of 303 on the par 70 course, ahead of runner-up Dighton-Rehoboth (323) and third-place Seekonk (346).
Philip le Gassick finished in first place individually, shooting one-over-par 71, while Braden Yeomans took home the silver medal, shooting 74.
The league championship capped off a busy week that included three dual-meet wins in two days. On Wednesday, Old Rochester hosted Seekonk and Somerset Berkley at the Bay Club in Mattapoisett, winning 257-303 against Somerset Berkley and 274-292 against Seekonk. On Thursday, Old Rochester defeated Bridgewater-Raynham, 231-252, to close out a perfect season.
Cross Country
Old Rochester’s boys and girls cross-country teams both won their meets against Fairhaven on October 13. ORR’s boys team won, 25-34, as Tyler Young finished first with a time of 16:19 on the 2.9-mile course. The girls were even more dominant, winning 19-43 with Corrine Robert finishing first at 20:41. The Bulldogs have two meets this week against Dighton-Rehoboth and Somerset Berkley. Wins in both matchups will see them clinch the SCC championship.
Girls Soccer
ORR girls soccer held its Senior Night on Monday, defeating GNB Voc-Tech, 4-1. Down early in the first half, the Bulldogs came back with a goal from Jen Williams, followed by two from Maddie Wright and one more from Mia Hall. Prior to the win, the Bulldogs had fallen 3-1 at Dighton-Rehoboth on October 13 but bounced back with a 5-1 win over visiting Falmouth on October 15. Wright led the Bulldogs with two goals, and Williams, Emily Abbott, and Mackenzie Wilson also scored. The 9-4-3 Bulldogs will host Somerset Berkley in a breast cancer awareness on Wednesday, October 20.
Volleyball
Old Rochester’s girls volleyball team continued its dominance and improved to 13-2. ORR defeated Dighton-Rehoboth 3-0 on October 13. Sally Butler led the 2020 SCC champions with 10 kills, along with Maggie Brogioli’s nine and Sydnee Pires’ six. The Bulldogs followed up with another win at home on October 16, defeating Dartmouth 3-0 to avenge an early-season loss. Ella Soutter had 14 kills, Brogioli had 11, and Butler had nine. On Monday, ORR picked up another 3-0 win at home against Voc-Tech; Brogioli had nine kills, Butler had eight and Pires six. The Bulldogs’ next match is against Somerset Berkley on Wednesday, October 20, in Mattapoisett.
Boys Soccer
ORR soccer saw an eight-game winning streak snapped, 3-2, by visiting Dighton-Rehoboth on October 13. Down 0-1 after the first half, the Bulldogs came back in the second with Matt Carvalho scoring two goals to tie the game at 2-2 before falling on a second-half goal by the visitors. The Bulldogs visited Voc-Tech on Monday and lost 1-0 to fall to 8-3-2. They’ll look to get back on track against Somerset Berkley on Wednesday, October 20.
Field Hockey
ORR’s field hockey team came into last week on a win streak but ended up on a skid. On October 13, the Bulldogs defeated Bourne, 3-1, with goals from Rosie Lally, Sofia Irish, and Emily Kilpatrick to extend their winning streak to five. That streak was snapped in their game on October 15 when they took a 2-1 loss against Dighton-Rehoboth. The Bulldogs’ slide was extended to two games on Monday when they visited Dartmouth, losing 4-1. Their next game will come at home on Wednesday, October 20, against Durfee.
Sports Roundup
By Matthew Curry