Old Colony beats Manchester Essex to punch ticket to Div. 8 state semifinals

It was a game to remember for the Old Colony football team as the No. 5 Cougars upset fourth-seeded Manchester Essex 22-20 on Friday night in the MIAA Div. 8 quarterfinals

Old Colony advances to its first Final Four appearance in at least 25 years.

The Cougars (9-1) will take on No. 1 Hull (10-0) in the state semifinals at a date and time to be determined. The Pirates beat eighth-seeded Cathedral 40-0 in Friday’s other quarterfinal.

“Kids played so well,” said Old Colony head coach Brandon Mendez. “They really rose to the challenge. I think we surprised them with our physical play.”

The Cougars get on the scoreboard first when Jake O’Neill scored on a four-yard run and Ryan Silva punched in the two-point conversion to give Old Colony an 8-0 lead with 7:40 left in the first quarter.

Manchester Essex responded just over a minute later with a touchdown to pull within 8-6.

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The Cougars extended their lead to 14-6 when Matt McGuiggan scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 11:15 left in the second quarter.

Manchester Essex battled back with another rushing touchdown to pull within 14-12 with 9:38 left in the first half.

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The Cougars answered with another one-yard touchdown run by McGuiggan and a two-point conversion by Shawn Markham to take a 22-12 lead into halftime. McGuiggan now has a team-high 10 touchdowns on the season.

Max Finney had a key interception before the break for Old Colony.

Neither team scored in the third quarter.

With 1:33 to play in the game, Manchester Essex scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to pull within two points, but the Cougars recovered the onside kick to hold on for the victory.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Old Colony football beats Manchester Essex in the Div. 8 Elite 8