Down by six with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Freddy Torcasio turned right and threw a rocket into the hands of his best friend, senior Milo Schneider, in the endzone.
The extra point was good. The Tigers had taken the lead.
This stunning catch was the deciding point for the Tigers, who took down Brookline 14-13 in a nail-biting annual Thanksgiving game at Fenway Park, Wednesday, Nov. 26.
This win marked the first time in almost a decade that North has attained a winning record, and also the first time the Tigers took on their rivals at Fenway, although the two teams have now played against each other 130 times.
For North’s seniors, this game is also the last of their high school careers. According to senior Dylan Leone, a captain along with Schneider, Torcasio and seniors Jack Caissie and Alejandro Valencia, he feels “so lucky” to have played his final game at historic Fenway.
“I stood out here. I literally just looked all around and took it all in,” he said. “It’s really wonderful. I’m so grateful, so blessed.”
That final moment of awe came only after the Tigers survived a win that was anything but assured. The team struggled in the first half against a strong outing from Brookline. After incomplete passes and ineffective rushes through the center, North was not able to put up solid yards against its opponent. The Tigers were further set back by multiple offensive false starts, causing the team to lose the yards it had gained.
Brookline’s offense was stellar throughout the first half. Halfway through the second quarter, Brookline senior Will Cavalier ran for a touchdown. The extra point was no good, but the Raiders were on the scoreboard.
Brookline scored again with three seconds left in the half when junior quarterback Brendan Bottiglieri found senior Nadav Grinstein. At halftime, the Tigers were shut out 13-0.
North’s energy changed when the Tigers ran out of the dugout for the second half. Almost immediately after the clock started, the team began making moves.
“Defensively, we went from really not being able to figure them out at all to shutting them out in the second half,” said Barry House Dean Nick Capodilupo, the head coach.
North’s offense looked more alive as well. From the first drive, the Tigers gained key rushing yards from both Leone and Torcasio. Later, in the fourth quarter, Torcasio found Leone at the five-yard line for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the night.
Capidolupo had nothing but praise for Torcasio. “Freddy exemplifies what we want in our program, which is kids that care more than anything about the team and are willing to do anything to support us,” he said. “He’s a great leader. I knew once we got going a little bit, we had a great shot at it.”
Senior Jacob Goodwin also had a standout showing, blocking a punt by Brookline and providing the team with another chance to score. According to Goodwin, this play was something the team had been practicing in preparation for the game.
“I just did my job,” Goodwin said.
Torcasio followed up with his second touchdown, securing the lead for North.
“All season, we’ve been doing this,” Goodwin said. “We go down, we all know that we’re going to come back. It sometimes takes a minute for us to find our footing, but at the end of the day, we’re going to work our ass off to go win that ballgame.”
