As the lowest seeded team in Division IV, the Monarchs (2-1) needed a win against the sixth-seeded Wildcats (1-2) to give themselves a chance of grabbing one of the eight postseason spots. Power points are hard to come by for low-seeded teams, so a victory against the highest-seeded team on the Monarchs' schedule should go a long way toward helping McGann-Mercy reach the playoffs.
"We knew in order to get where we want to go, it went through Shoreham," Monarchs Coach Joe Read said. "I wouldn't say we pointed the whole season for it, but we did come to beat Shoreham."
On the bus ride to Shoreham, Read spoke with his players about close games where they came up short in previous years. "Everybody, to the man, on the bus said today is the day," Read said.
It was.
While the big blow never came on offense, the Monarchs finally put an end to the scoreless tie when quarterback Ryan Olson ran a one-yard sneak into the end zone.
After regulation time ended with no score, the Monarchs won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. Both teams were given a possession on the 20-yard line.
McGann-Mercy's defense held Shoreham scoreless when Olson intercepted a pass on third-and-20. After a holding penalty backed up the Monarchs on their first play, they needed only six more plays to punch it into the end zone for the game's first and only score.
"It looked like they were tired up front and we were going to try to take advantage of that," Wildcats Coach Bill Ashton said. "We just ran out of time."
The Monarchs had good reason to be tired. They play only 11 players on both sides of the ball.
The Wildcats nearly won it at the end of regulation when senior Bryan Kelly intercepted an Olson pass with under 27 seconds to play. Kelly did his best to try to take it into the end zone, but he was finally tackled at the Monarchs' 14. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, only 15 seconds remained. Quarterback Sam Sheppard scrambled for three yards on first down, but he hurt his right knee on the play and remained on the ground for a few minutes before returning to the game.
Read said the defense shifted to a cover three, which the Monarchs hadn't played all game. "We were in cover one all day, so I think that confused him a bit," Read said. "I hope he's all right. He's a tough kid."
Ashton elected to try a 28-yard field goal on the next play, but Kelly's attempt went wide left.
Both teams had plenty of chances in regulation time, but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities.
McGann-Mercy dominated time of possession in the first half by nearly 10 minutes, but each sustained drive fell short as the Monarchs neared the red zone.
Read brought his familiar bag of tricks to Shoreham. Never a fan of punting, he called a fake punt on the fourth play of the game. On the play, Pat Burney caught a 14-yard pass from Olson (12 for 25, 152 yards). And Read didn't shy away from going for it on fourth downs after that, either.
The Monarchs' best scoring chance came in the second quarter on a first-and-goal from the 5. A penalty backed them up on second down and sophomore Matt Cassella sacked Olson on third down. The Monarchs failed to convert a long field-goal attempt on fourth down. A running-into-the-kicker penalty gave them another chance five yards closer, but the kick missed again.
The Wildcats' defense kept the pressure on Olson all game. He was sacked six times in the first half alone.
"We made some plays in the back," Ashton said. "Then because we loosened up pass coverage, they took advantage of some plays up the middle."
While rain was in the forecast Saturday, it never fell. The Wildcats hoped the weather would benefit their running attack, at the same time limiting the Monarchs' passing attack. As it turned out, the Wildcats still did enough to limit McGann-Mercy on offense but couldn't generate enough offense of their own.
The Wildcats had a golden chance to score early in the fourth quarter. After forcing the Monarchs to punt, Shoreham took over on the McGann-Mercy 40. The Wildcats drove to the 11 before the drive stalled.
Burney led the Monarchs' receiving core with eight catches for 72 yards.
McGann-Mercy travels to Greenport tomorrow night. The Porters are 1-2 after a loss to the Mount Sinai Mustangs Saturday night. Shoreham will host the Southampton Mariners, a preseason No. 4 seed that is 0-3, on Saturday.
"One week they look horrible, one week they look pretty good," Ashton said of Southampton. "It depends on who shows up for them, who shows up for us."