It was a classic game-winning drive. Everything fit together – like it was meant to be. And it only took two minutes.
Trailing powerhouse Woburn High School, 14-13, with four minutes remaining, the 2-1 Bedford High School Buccaneers needed just four plays to cover 59 yards and score what proved to be Friday night’s winning touchdown.
The 21-14 victory against a much bigger school (60 layers in grades 10-12, compared to 38 Bucs) was especially sweet because the Tanners are coached by Jack Belcher, who moved to Woburn in 2017 after leading the Bedford program for 13 years. Former Buccaneer assistant coaches Vin McGrath and Jeff McGrath are also now on the Woburn sidelines.
Eight minutes into Friday’s fourth quarter, the Tanners took the lead on a 50-yard sweep around left end by sophomore Ryan Lush. It was one of only a handful of time the Tanners gained significant yardage against a dominant Bedford defense.
The Bucs’ comeback task was facilitated by a short kickoff, fielded by Nelson Crawford at the Bedford 41. “He caught that on the run into the wind – I thought that was a huge play,” said BHS Head Coach Tom Tone.
After two running plays, by quarterback Eric Miles and running back Drew Siwik, for nine yards, Miles took the shotgun snap at midfield and rolled left, where his offensive line had cleared about an acre. He was finally stopped at the Woburn 31.
All game, “We blocked up really well, all five of those guys,” Tone said. “Emil Colon had a really strong game at right guard, and Dan Petetsky at center, and big Chris (Pugielli) and Jamie (Buchannan) and Dylan Likins. And Ryan Cohen was strong at tight end.”
The next play was textbook. Miles took a straight five-step drop and, with Siwik picking up a blitzing linebacker, arched a throw that led senior Stuart Livingston perfectly down the left sideline. Livingston had a height advantage over the defender; he snagged the pass with sure hands and entered the endzone just inside the left pylon.
“Stu didn’t play much last week against Newburyport. Friday he certainly made a huge reception,” Tone commented.
Now leading 19-14 with about two minutes remaining, it made sense to try for the two-point conversion. And again the Tanners helped; they were flagged for offsides. From the two-yard line it was relatively easy for Miles, behind the jumbo line, to power in for the points.
Then the defense finished the job. Woburn, with two minutes to score, managed one first-down before Buc senior safety Owen Brazee intercepted his second pass of the night.
“Most of the game I thought we controlled the ball. They really only hurt us on a handful of plays,” Tone observed, The Buccaneer defense held the Tanners to 166 yards total offense. Miles rushed for 178 himself; the team offense was 289 yards. “From a physicality standpoint, we played pretty tough,” the coach added.
Bedford opened the scoring on its first possession, following a Jayvon Williams kickoff return to just past midfield. Then Miles, Siwik, and the offensive line marched the rest of the way to the endzone in two-and-a-half minutes. Miles scored from the six-yard line and Nick Tatarczuk added the extra point.
The Tanners took an 8-7 lead with abut 80 seconds left in the first half. They needed 13 plays to cover just 53 yards. The Tanners ran an inside reverse for the two-point conversion.
But no defense can relax with Miles on offense, regardless of the clock. On first down from the Bedford 29, the senior faked a handoff to Siwik then found space on the left side and accelerated alone to the endzone. His attempt to rush the points fell just short.
Besides the 178 yards, which pushed his season total to around 600 on the ground, Miles completed seven of nine passes for 77 yards and some key solo tackles at linebacker. “Eric is just an exceptional player” Tone said. The coach also applauded the play of his backfield partner, the sophomore Siwik, who carried 13 times, including a couple of eight-yard gains.
Bedford finally plays a home game Friday at 7 against ancient rival Wayland. Tone is aware that his team hasn’t beaten Wayland since he arrived in 2017; indeed, “we’ve never been in a competitive game with those guys in the second half.”
Wayland has lost all three of its games, but Tone said he is certain that “they’re going to be very motivated to play us.” He added, “And we’re going to be motivated to play them.”
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