Reading holds off Winchester in key Middlesex Liberty victory

As the final buzzer sounded, Reading sprinted for the end zone. For the Rockets, it was mission accomplished.

Junior running back Dan DiMare rushed for 103 yards and totaled two touchdowns as Reading moved into first place atop the Middlesex Liberty with a 22-14 road victory over Winchester on Friday night at Knowlton Field.

Freshman quarterback James Murphy once again played well for the Rockets (5-1, 3-0) finishing 10-of-14 for 129 yards and a touchdown.

“Coach (John Fiore) says it — the league runs through us and we take a lot of pride in that,” DiMare said. “I am just so excited for my teammates and it was an awesome win.”

After trailing 14-7 at the half, Winchester came out in the third quarter and captured the momentum as Tommy Degnan (16 carries, 108 yards, 2 TDs) kept the snap off the zone read, broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage and took off 77 yards for the touchdown to tie the score, 14-14.

Reading, however, reclaimed the lead before the end of the third quarter. On third and goal from the Winchester nine-yard line, Murphy rolled right and hit DiMare in stride for the touchdown. An ensuing successful two-point pass put Reading up 22-14. The Rockets defense took control from there asserting itself at the line of scrimmage to limit the Sachems running game. After forcing four consecutive three-and-outs, Reading had a chance to put the game away but a fumble gave Winchester possession with 8:07 left.

A 60-yard completion set the Sachems up inside the red zone, but on fourth and one from the 15, Rockets lineman Dom DeCrescenzo brought down Degnan in the backfield to seal the victory for Reading.

“Lot of credit goes to Winchester. Our kids just played so hard and so physical,” Fiore said. ” We really hit each other up all week long. We had a feeling it was going to be a physical type of game. We are a young team. We’re learning lessons, and this was a great lesson for us tonight.”

Despite only possessing the ball for four minutes in the first half the Rockets managed to head into the half in front. Patrick Harrigan gave the Rockets a 7-0 lead with a 62-yard pick six. Then, on its first offensive drive of the game, DiMare took a draw 15-yards to the house to extend Reading’s lead to 14-0. Winchester’s lone score of the half came on a one-yard sneak from Degnan that capped off a 12-play drive.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2OYsifl