BCAT News

The battle of supremacy took place at Gillette for the Shawsheen Rams as they clashed with the North Reading Hornets for the Division 5 MIAA Title. Shawsheen came into the game as the fourth seeded underdogs, while the Hornets were the second seed at (7-1). North Reading came away with the upset as they handed the Rams their first loss of the season 44-28 in the biggest game of the year.

Shawsheen finished an impressive undefeated season at (8-0) defeating Bedford, Triton Regional, Essex North Shore, Greater Lowell Tech, Manchester Essex and Whitter Tech. Shawsheen had scored a combined total of 205 points of offense in the regular season, while the defense allowed 89 points. In the post season, the offense scored 118 combined points and the defense allowed 97 points after wins over Worcester Tech, Old Rochester Regional, Dover-Sherborn and the loss to North Reading.

The big game at Gillette was an exciting one, as the Rams had momentum on both sides of the ball. On offense, Shawsheen scored two touchdowns one each in the first and second quarters. According to the Boston Globe, sophomore/quarterback Sidney Tildsley of Billerica had one passing touchdown to senior/wide receiver Mavrick Bourdeau for a 33-yard touchdown and then Tildsley ran it in himself for a 4-yard touchdown. Both the Rams and Hornets went into the locker room at  halftime tied up at 14 a piece.

North Readings momentum came in the second half of the game as they scored three times in the third quarter with a 39-yard touchdown, a 37-yard field goal and a 47-yard touchdown.  Shawsheen fell behind 30-14. The Rams were down, but not out as they found ways to score on offense. Junior/running back Caleb Caceres of Billerica ran it in himself for a 4-yard touchdown, while Bourdeau scored a 1-yard touchdown. Bourdeau also caught a 2-point conversion pass from Tildsley.

The Hornets finished the championship with another two scores with a 90-yard touchdown and two 32-yard touchdowns.

Six seniors from the team are departing this off-season including: Mavrick Bourdeau of Billerica, Kevin Ackerley of Wilmington, Colin Kelley of Billerica, Tim Cassidy of Billerica, Ryan Dennis of Billerica and Cooper Lemieux of Tewksbury.

There were four Burlington athletes who were part of this years team including: sophomore/o-line and d-lineman Johnny Ranno, sophomore/d-lineman/linebacker Joseph Menkello, junior/runningback/linebacker Jack Clifford, junior/o-line and d-lineman Brady Senk.