In heavyweight battle, Burke delivers knockout
PAWTUCKET — Pilgrim defensive back Brady Burke dropped back in coverage and saw Tolman quarterback Jordan Cooper take off running. Only one thing crossed his mind.
“I just know, I gotta go," Burke said.
And Burke went. In a battle of hard-hitting teams, Burke came up with the biggest play. With Tolman driving for the go-ahead score Burke put a hit on Cooper, knocked the ball loose and made the recovery to help the Patriots hold on for a 16-14 win over the Tigers.
“I know I’ve got to make this tackle or it’s a touchdown and we lose,” Burke said. “I gave it all I had, hit him as hard as I could and just did my best.”
“He’s the best hitter on our team,” Pilgrim quarterback Mike Borges said. “… He comes through with big hits.”
In a battle of Division III heavyweights, Pilgrim (4-0 D-III) had to absorb two huge shots early before coming away with the knockout blow. Tolman (2-2 D-III) opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown run by Cute Todaycq, in his first game since the Injury Fund, and on their next drive got a 67-yard touchdown run by Aaron Carrion.
“Last year this was the team that took us out of the playoffs,” said Today, who finished with 116 yards on 11 carries. “We were trying to come here and get back at it, get our payback.”
Pilgrim followed the Carrion score with a 13-play, 55-yard drive punctuated by a 5-yard run by Borges, who hooked up with Burke for the two-point conversion.
But both offenses were limited the rest of the way. Both defenses stepped up huge, closing gaps like a shopping mall and delivering harder hits than a baseball team. Yards were few and far between until Pilgrim’s penultimate possession.
The eight-play, 70-yard drive was highlighted by the versatility of Demitri Ayers. The senior running back completed an 18-yard halfback pass to Connor Fallon and a 13-yard shovel pass to Ethan Laramee. He followed that with a 1-yard run to pick up a first down, which was followed by Borges’ second 5-yard TD run.
“I don’t care about stats,” said Ayers, who had 54 yards rushing on 17 carries and completed 2 of 3 passes for 31 yards. “I don’t care if I’m running the ball, throwing or if I’ve got to throw a block. I’ll do everything I can to help this team get a win.”
Pilgrim is undefeated and established itself as the team to beat in D-III. Tolman may have proved it’s the team that will challenge the Patriots.
“They’re a great football team, we just hung in there longer,” Burke said. “The most physical team wins and we were the most physical team in this building.”
“They just wanted it harder than us,” Today said. “I’ll give it to them this game, but next time it’ll be ours.”