ATTLEBORO — Immediately following the postgame handshake line, every Bishop Feehan athlete — cheerleaders included — sprinted along the hashmarks to the 5-yard line, which was submerged in a half-inch of water.
After hours of heavy downpour Friday, the McGrath Stadium turf was saturated.
With the glee of children playing on a Slip ‘N Slide during summertime, the Shamrocks dove headfirst into the rain-soaked surface, their momentum carrying them for what, during gametime, would have qualified as first-down yardage.
They were soaked, and satisfied.
“We have a swim team, apparently,” joked coach Bryan Pinabell.
The celebration followed eighth-ranked Bishop Feehan’s 29-0 first-round win over No. 9 North Andover. The Shamrocks (4-5) advance to the Division 2 quarterfinals, where a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl with top-seeded Catholic Memorial (6-2) awaits.
“Getting rewarded like that after a big game — can’t ask for anything more,” said senior captain Ryan Izzo.
Neither team was perfect, but mistakes quickly piled up for North Andover (5-4). As a result of the wet weather, the Scarlet Knights had an early malfunction on a punt at their goal line, and Bishop Feehan captain Adam Hertel recovered the ball for a touchdown.
Later, senior captain Xavier Baker’s 31-yard touchdown run made it 14-0, and just before halftime, Jameson Pilling drilled a 35-yard field goal.
“I’m so proud of our team,” said Pinabell. “We dealt with a ton of adversity this year. We played a really tough schedule. I’m sure people are looking at [our record] 3-5 and saying we’d be an easy out. We played physical, we controlled the line of scrimmage, we blocked, and we took it to them.”
Jacouri Thompson recovered a muffed punt, Andrew Regan Jr. rushed for a 4-yard score, sophomore quarterback Bradyn Hogan plowed in for a 1-yard touchdown, and Zachary Rose recovered a fumble as the final seconds ticked away.
Perhaps most satisfying? Hogan’s slide through the water postgame for a 10-yard gain.
“It was rewarding. Just awesome,” he said. “We’ve had a tough season — I saw a million posts going into this game bringing us down, projecting us to lose. We just needed to give everything we had tonight, and we’re going to keep doing that, especially against a big opponent next week.”
