Sports

Football Comeback Falls Short in Flynn's Debut

Dedham fell 33-27 to Sharon on Saturday.

A monumental comeback fell just short for the Marauders football team in their season opener Saturday at Sharon.

Sharon ran to a season-opening 33-27 victory over visiting Dedham, but Mother Nature beat up both teams.

Eagles junior Sean Asnes ran for four touchdowns and sophomore Evantz Elisma ran for another during the debuts of both teams' head coaches, Sharon's Dave Morse and .

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Afterward, Morse and Flynn said the warm weather -- more like late August than early October -- caused their players to cramp up, forcing unexpected line-up changes.

"When we play in September early in the day, it's a common thing," Morse said.

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"I was scouting [Friday] night, and even the night players were cramping up. So I sent out an email to my guys, 'Make sure you're fluid.'"

Flynn said his team's conditioning surprised him.

"We have in the off-season, and I explained to them, 'You can't drink soda. You've got to take care of your bodies,'" Flynn said. "It's one of those days. These things happen."

Sharon took a 20-7 lead into halftime on two Asnes touchdowns and one by Elisma.

"We didn't tackle very well, and we didn't block very well at times," Flynn said.

Elisma's 23-yard touchdown run capped a 97-yard Sharon drive that put the Eagles up 12-0 with 6:24 left in the half. Junior Eric Lesser's extra-point kick was good.

The Marauders scored about two minutes later, on sophomore Jay Maxwell's 22-yard run. Senior Michael Ryan kicked the extra point for a 13-7 score.

The Eagles responded with a 20-yard Asnes TD run and a Lesser kick with 56.9 seconds left in the half.

Asnes finished the game with 159 yards and four touchdowns, Morse said. Elisma had 172 yards and one touchdown.

"Sean and Evantz have run this offense at a high level for a long time. They both understand it," Morse said.

An Asnes 30-yard run and a Lesser kick on the second half's opening  drive gave Sharon a 27-7 lead.

"We couldn't get a stop defensively. We came out and we let them score. That's huge," Flynn said. "If we're kicking off the second half, the biggest thing is to get a kick to start and pin them deep."

But the Marauders fought right back.

Senior Shawn Pinkham's 7-yard and Ryan's kick made it 27-14 with 4:06 left in the third quarter.

Senior Shane Lowe's 18-yard pass to Ryan brought Dedham to within 7, at 27-20, with 4:24 left in the game.

Sharon replied with a 2-yard touchdown run by Asnes with 2:56 left, for a 33-20 lead.

But a Pinkham 1-yard run and a Dedham extra point put the Marauders within 6, 33-27, with two minutes left.

"That gives a team like that a chance," Morse said of that touchdown. "You give a team like that momentum, you let them hang around because of stupid mistakes, and it's huge for them."

Dedham (0-1) travels to Westwood at 7 p.m. Friday.


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