FALL RIVER — Holbrook/Avon coach Mike Walsh and senior quarterback Chuck Luarasi noticed a big difference with Atlantis Charter/Westport co-op football team on Thursday.
Last season, Holbrook/Avon won a rout over the Tritons, 52-18.
But on this night, the Tritons had the Bulldogs on the ropes several times before succumbing late in the fourth quarter.
“They’re a talented team and the quarterback is very talented,” said Walsh, after the Bulldogs escaped with a tough 34-22 victory to ruin Atlantis Charter/Westport home opener. “Atlantis Charter looked good on film and coach (Kazeem Adediran) built his program up. We’ve beaten them by an average of 48 points the last two years. But they played very well tonight.”
Luarasi’s two-yard touchdown — his second rushing touchdown — with 7:07 left in the contest gave Holbrook/Avon (2-1) some breathing room heading down the stretch after it was just a 26-22 contest.
“Not the prettiest win but I kept the team together,” Luarasi said. “I’ve been doing this for four years and I keep telling the guys that in the fourth quarter, you have to keep it tight. We made sure we had to punch it in.
“Their program looks a lot better, 100 percent. They’re playing hard, quarterback looks great and he’s a freak athlete, running out of the pocket and slinging the ball. Coaching (for them) has gotten a lot better. It’s a 100 percent improvement.”
Kazeem Adediran said there’s no such thing as a moral victory but he was certainly proud of the effort at game’s end.
“They’re a well-coached team,” he said. “They have a lot of size and they have an identity. We knew there was a challenge tonight. But I told my guys afterward I’m really proud of them.”
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The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and marched 95 yards on a 13-play drive to draw first blood. Kyree Williams took the handoff to the end zone from nine yards out to give the visitors an early 6-0 lead. The 2-point rush failed.
The Tritons (2-1) tied the game, thanks to a touchdown pass from Davion Adediran to Nathaniel Benevides from 40 yards away. Devon Paradise also contributed a 27-yard reception on the drive. Holbrook/Avon went back in front 12-6 as Luarasi hooked up with Thomas Irby on a 45-yard, wide-open pass play.
After a Tritons’ punt, Luarasi’s one-yard score increased the margin to 18-6 but AC/Westport responded with a 10-yard rush by Adediran to cut the lead down to 18-12. Adediran converted the 2-point conversion on a pass to Bradey Viveiros.
The Bulldogs drove quickly down the field just before halftime as senior Jordan Cioffi took it in from two yards out to give Holbrook/Avon a 24-14 lead with six ticks on the clock remaining. Williams rushed for the 2-point conversion.
Both defenses put on a show to begin the second half as Irby collected a pair of interceptions for the Bulldogs. The Tritons defense stopped two consecutive drives inside their territory to get the ball back. A roughing the kicker on Jarod Arruda enabled ACS/Westport to close the margin to 26-22. Bradey Viveiros scored a 24-yard touchdown run and Adediran rushed for the 2-point conversion. That set the stage for a close finish.
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Now the Tritons are back to the drawing board.
“It’s a good learning lesson,” ACS/Westport middle linebacker Patrick Benevides said. “We shot ourselves in the foot tonight. This is a good point to see where we are at as a football team. We’re a lot better than last year and we’re built better. We are building something special here.”
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
