by Dakota Antelman
Moments after watching Marlboro run out the clock on a 28-21 Turkey Day loss for his Hudson football team, junior Edrick Meuse ran up alongside teammate Jesse Nemerowicz, hugged an arm around his shoulder and quietly said, “It’s been great playing with you. You’re a good man.”
Nemerowicz walked with a limp while carrying the Offensive MVP Trophy. He silently nodded.
Nemerowicz will attend Bryant University in the fall via a 95% football scholarship. He is an anomaly of sorts on a Hudson varsity football team with 21 seniors. For many, Thursday’s back and forth game vs. Marlboro will be their last time playing a competitive game of football.
“It’s a lot about the rivalry,” Meuse acknowledged. “But I feel like it’s more about the seniors. For a lot of them, it’s their last time playing ball in Hudson. For some people, it’s their last time touching the ball forever. We play for our seniors. The rivalry is just a plus to that.”
McAnespie says he saw his team play with “high energy” during the game. Unfortunately for Hudson, however, they were unable to squeak out the win in a close duel with the Panthers.
After a Nemerowicz touchdown run in the first quarter, Hudson tacked on a 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass from Stephen Miranda to Rocco Malloy. That touchdown gave Hudson a 14-7 lead.
“You want to have game changers,” McAnespie said. “That catch by Rocco down the sideline, that was a big play, that was a game changer, that kept us in the game. That’s stuff you want to have. That’s stuff you want to go your way.”
Marlboro promptly marched the ball back down the field on their next possession however. At the crux of their 50-yard drive was running back Luke Goulet, who tied the game with a 10-yard touchdown run.
“We don’t let each other down. In the huddle, we were just focusing on that drive,” Marlboro running back and game MVP Owen Cappadona said. “Get the drive done, then we’ll get the stop on defense. We hammered it right down the field and played the smash mouth football like we love to play.”
Hudson later capitalized on a key Panther fumble early in the fourth quarter and managed to tie the game at 21-21 on a 10-yard touchdown run by Edrick Meuse. Once again though, Marlboro matched, rumbling back down the field on their next possession, jumping out to a 28-21 lead and, shortly after, winning the game by the same score.
The loss ended the season. For the seniors who have helped lead the Hawks throughout the season, the loss ended their high school careers.
Senior Marc Mitchell was a moral and physical leader this season. He could be seen and heard keeping his teammates engaged on the sideline throughout the season. He also won Thursday’s Most Valuable Offensive Linemen Award to cap off his high school football career.
He deferred nonetheless, crediting his teammates with a strong performance.
“I’m really proud to get the award, but I really feel like our whole line deserved to get it. We did well, really did a great job today. Sure we lost, but I’m really proud of all my guys.”
Likewise, Meuse speaks to the leadership and friendship he has with Jesse Nemerowicz, who is also a captain.
“I came here. I was a little immature,” he said. “But Jesse always looked out for me. He made sure I was all right. I had a rough season, and then I started to do well. Jesse helped me through tough times, and we became a family.”
Coach McAnespie saw the leadership from his seniors and commended their work.
“I’m proud of our kids. I’m proud of the way they played throughout the season,” he said. “We didn’t get a lot of wins, but I’m proud of the way that they came out. The whole team played good Thanksgiving Day football; they played Hudson football. I am proud of them for doing that.”
For those who will not graduate this year, Thursday stood as both a tough loss and a melancholy football goodbye to the seniors. For those 21 seniors, Friday was a dramatic finale to high school football careers that may or may not continue past Thursday’s 28-21 loss in the 2015 Turkey Day game.
Marc Mitchell’s football career is one that will not continue.
“I’m planning to go to Western New England University in Springfield, but I don’t think college football will be in the future for me. It’s not that I don’t like football, but I just think this is a good place to lay it down. And it is,” Mitchell said, turning a final glance to the, by then empty, Morgan Bowl.
