Middlesex opened the 2013 football season on a sunny, 75 degree day against St. Mark's in Southborough, MA. And for the fifth year in a row, it was the Zebras who took home the hard-fought victory.
Sam Carlin '15 started the game with an 82 yard kickoff return, only to have it called back by a penalty. Carlin however, quickly adjusted along with backfield running mate, George Morris '15. The two juniors combined efforts to move the Middlesex offense down the field on their first possession, ending in a 2 yard scoring run by Morris. The extra point kick went wide, leaving the Zebras with a 6-0 lead. St. Mark's would respond late in the second quarter with a touchdown pass to take a 7-6 going into halftime.
In the second half, Â Middlesex once again scored first. QB John Schuster '15 connected with Hasani Figueroa '14 to effectively move the ball down the field. Â Figueroa capped the scoring drive with a 4 yard plunge, restoring a Middlesex lead at 12-7. Â St. Mark's was able to put another scoring drive together at the end of the third quarter and hold a 14- 12 lead going into the fourth quarter. Â From there the Middlesex defense took over led by the line backing crew of Charlie Owen '14, Guy Kato '15, Ben Marchand '15, George Morris, and Sam Carlin. The Zebra defense held strong to stop St. Mark's ground and air attacks. Â Safety Nick Colangelo '14 had a key interception and defensive end Steve Zawada '15 had two sacks. Â
MX's fourth quarter scoring campaign began on the ensuing kickoff after St. Mark's took the lead.  Special team's member Rory Glavin '17 recovered a fumble on the St. Mark's 35 yard line and the Middlesex offense did the rest. Middlesex drove the ball down the field culminating in George Morris scoring his second TD of the afternoon on an 11 yard run.  The following 2 point attempt was again no good, but MX recaptured the lead at 18-14.  After swapping offensive series, a key catch and run by wide out Nick Colangelo setup the MX 11 once more in St. Mark's territory. The offense line of Connor Sloan '15, Steve Zawada, Walker Griggs '15, Ben Canniff '15 and Will Baxter '15-who had played great all day- opened holes for both Morris and Figueroa. Figueroa finished the drive for his second touchdown of the afternoon on a 12 yard run. The kick by Sam Carlin was good and the final score was a 25-14 Middlesex victory. Â
Middlesex will host St. Paul's this coming Saturday in their first home contest of 2013 fall season. Kickoff time is at 3:00 pm. Â Â Â
