MARLBOROUGH – A trip to Chelmsford ended in another win for the Marlborough Shamrocks on Saturday.
Three weeks after a season-opening loss to the Southern New England Admirals, and two weeks after a blowout of a vastly shorthanded Brockton Bucks squad, offensive coordinator Harrison Ingels called the victory “the first real win of the season.”
“It’s coming together,” he told the Community Advocate. “We work real hard for it.”
Shamrocks rebound after slow start
Things opened slowly for the Shamrocks and the Mill City Eagles, with teams remaining scoreless through the first quarter of this weekend’s game.
Marlborough then threatened early in the second quarter, marching deep into Eagles territory only to see their drive end prematurely with a goal-line interception.
Shamrocks defenders quickly put quarterback Blake Rice and the rest of their offense back on the field, however, forcing a fumble just two plays later.
Rice followed that with a touchdown pass to receiver Mitjon Celaj and a two-point conversation to give Marlborough an 8-0 lead.
“[The] defense was killing it,” Ingels said.
“We hit our side after the first [quarter],” he added.
Mill City and the Shamrocks traded touchdowns in the moments after Marlborough’s first score.
Marlborough then kept the pressure on taking a 22-12 lead.
A successful punt recovery off a botched Mill City catch later gave the Shamrocks the ball back to jump ahead 29-12 on a touchdown catch by Anthony Cintron.
The Eagles worked to answer once more, only to fall short on the goal-line as Marlborough’s defense stood tall in the final moments of the third quarter.
Mill City was forced to attempt a field goal, which they missed, leaving Marlborough’s 17-point lead intact.
Though the Eagles did later narrow the deficit to 29-18, Marlborough clamped down, securing the win.
Marlborough eyes next game at home
Celebrating with his team, Ingels recognized a hard fought effort with room for improvement.
“The defense sets us up,” he said. “They’ve always propelled us and given us that intensity. It was no different today.”
Marlborough’s defense did generate four turnovers on Saturday. The offense converted on three of those opportunities.
“Guys were punching at the ball, swatting at the ball, being pests,” Ingels said. “When you get free possessions, it makes the game easy.”
Likewise, even with an at-times stiff defensive cadre massing against them, Rice and the offense managed to repeatedly work their way up the field and into the end-zone.
“When you’re spreading the ball around and teams can’t roll to one specific side of the field, it makes a team hard to stop,” Ingels said of his unit’s diverse attack.
Simultaneously, though, he highlighted discipline issues among his own ranks.
These included multiple moments of players arguing with officials.
Ingels himself was frustrated with elements of Saturday’s officiating.
He quickly looked to the future, however, eyeing a clash next weekend at home in Marlborough.
There, the Shamrocks will host the Boston Bandits.
“We know that Boston is a good team,” Ingels said. “But we’re going to come out and we’re going to execute every play.”
The Shamrocks game against the Bandits is set for 7 p.m. this coming Saturday at Kelleher Field.
