Redhawks Defeat Flyers 16-15

By Varun Tekur

This past Saturday, the Flyers travelled to rival territory to play in one of the biggest matchups of the year. It was the annual Framingham vs. Natick game that always draws lots of interest and passion from fans, players, and coaches.

Played at primetime under the lights, the 8th grade game was a thriller.

Natick would begin the game with possession of the ball, lost the ball after a turnover on downs, but regained possession by recovering a Framingham fumble. The game would remain scoreless for most of the first half.

Shane Ayotte and Jordan Ortiz carried the ball well for the Flyers and Warren Perez made a few powerful defensive plays.

Natick eventually scored on a 22-yard touchdown run but the Flyers were quick to respond to this.

Quarterback Jack Beverley led Framingham on a drive that included a 33-yard run by Jordan Ortiz and culminated with a 9 yard touchdown pass from Beverley to Christian Maldonado. A 2-point kick by Sam Stubbs made the score 8-8.

The score didn’t remain tied for long, however, as Natick then returned the next kickoff for a touchdown and made the score 16-8.

Some other highlights for the first half were a 25-yard diving catch by Andrew Keane from Jack Beverley and a sack by Jordan Ortiz to end the half.

The Flyers had multiple offensive drives that started well in the third quarter but ended badly due to fumbles.

The defense was still menacing, featuring some great hits by Alex Sherwood and Warren Perez, and was able to force a Natick fumble in the end zone that resulted in a safety. This safety gave made the score 16-10 and gave the Flyers the ball.

With his eye on the end zone, Jack Beverley connected with Sam Stubbs on an 8-yard pass and with Christian Maldonado on a 19-yard pass. Framingham made the score 16-13 with a 25-yard field goal by Sam Stubbs. A field goal in youth football is very remarkable because most teams don’t have a kicker who is able to do this.

The Flyers quickly got the ball back by forcing Natick to punt on their next drive, and had the ball late in the 4th quarter and down by 3 points. This game was a nail-biter until the very end.

With the help of runs by Jordan Ortiz, Jack Beverley used the Flyers’ momentum and completed passes to Sam Stubbs, Andrew Keane, and Matthew Giovine. After moving all the way up to the Natick 1-yard line, the Flyers’ were stopped on 4th down and forced to give up the ball.

With 1:33 left in the 4th quarter and 2 timeouts left, the Flyers still had hope to stop Natick and get the ball back. This is exactly what they did, as the Redhawks gave up a safety in the end zone, making the score 16-15 with 36 seconds left in the game.

Now, the Flyers had the ball with one last shot to win.

Jordan Ortiz flew down the sideline and had a 22-yard run on the second play of the drive.

With seconds remaining, Framingham then attempted a game-winning field goal, which they missed.

Although Framingham barely lost 16-15, they attempted a valiant comeback near the end of the game.

Next week is the game that everyone has been waiting for: the home opener. The Flyers face Needham on Sunday, September 13 at the Framingham State University Field.

Come on down to the games for great food (arguably the best food in the Bay State conference), entertaining football, and an awesome time!

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Tekur is a student at Framingham High School. This is his fourth year providing reports on the FYFC program.