Charlie Breitrose
Watertown junior quarterback Nick McDermott and the Raiders won the North Section Final with a late comeback win to defeat host Lynnfield Friday night.
The Watertown High School football team officially became the Cardiac Kids with a third straight late comeback win in an MIAA State Tournament game. Friday night The Raiders scored two touchdowns in less that two minutes to defeat Lynnfield 38-34 in the Section Final and grab the North Section title.
Watertown (6-4) held a 10 point lead with three minutes left in the first half, but the host and top-seeded Pioneers (8-2) rallied for three straight touchdowns to go up 28-17 with 4:44 left in the third quarter.
The Raiders got back within four late in the third quarter when senior receiver Conor Kennelly caught a 19-yard touchdown. The Pioneers went up by 10 points with 2:55 left in the fourth quarter when Leo Quinn ran for a 18-yard touchdown, but Watertown blocked the extra point.
With time running out, Watertown drove down and junior quarterback Nick McDermott hit senior receiver John Korte for a 5-yard touchdown to narrow the gap to 34-31 Lynnfield. McDermott had three touchdown passes on the night.
The Raiders attempted an on-side kick and recovered the ball with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter. Watertown mounted another drive and McDermott ran the ball in from 6-yards out to clinch the 38-34 win with 11 seconds.
Watertown got on the board first when Kennelly booted a 37-yard field goal. After Lynnfield scored a touchdown, junior receiver Yoseph Hamad caught a 29-yard touchdown pass to put the Raiders up 10-7 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter junior running back Mange Camara found the end zone on a six-yard run to give Watertown a 17-7 lead.
First Section Title
The third time was the charm for Watertown. For the third straight year the Raiders made it to the North Section final, but after falling short in 2015 and 2016 Watertown pulled out the win this year.
Also, for the third straight week the Raiders won on a late score defeat a higher seeded team in a road playoff game. Last week they beat Somerville with a touchdown with 19 seconds left.
With the win, Watertown will play an extra game for the first time since the new playoff system started in 2013. The Raiders will take on the South Section champion – 10-0 Dennis-Yarmouth – in the Div. 5 Eastern Mass. Final. The game will be played on Friday, Nov. 17, time and place to be announced.