Marlboro Shamrocks fall in league title game

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Marlboro Shamrocks fall in league title game
Quarterback Blake Rice hands off the ball. (Photo/Laura Hayes)

MARLBOROUGH – After going scoreless for the first three quarters, the Marlboro Shamrocks rallied in the fourth quarter in the East Coast Football League championship game against the Southern New England Admirals in Brockton Saturday night.

The Shamrocks scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime. 

Ultimately, they fell to the Admirals 23-26. 

“I’m glad we made it a football game,” said owner and head coach Chris Chambers. “At the beginning, we let things get the best of us.”

The Marlboro Shamrocks entered the championship game with a 10-1 record, only losing to the Admirals during their season opener in June. 

“We’ve been through adversity, and we know … we have what it takes if we play our brand of football and make a game of it,” Chambers said.

The Shamrocks entered the fourth quarter down 0-20. The three touchdowns tied the score at 20-20 with moments left in the quarter. However, after the Shamrocks missed the extra point, the game was sent into overtime. 

“I hope [the team takes] away that no matter who we play, we’re always at an opportunity to win. But we can’t come out at the beginning of a game and just expect to win,” Chambers said.

He continued, “We’re four straight championships, four straight championship victories and sometimes you get a little overconfident. I don’t think that was the case tonight, but we definitely were flat early. As you saw, the fourth quarter when we play like we can, we can do a lot really quickly. I’ll tell the guys to give that effort four quarters.”

Chambers noted that this means the Marlboro Shamrocks won’t be heading to Florida for a shot at a national title.

In January, the Shamrocks won their second national title in the two seasons since they reorganized in Marlborough after beating the Brooklyn Seminoles.

Chambers congratulated the Admirals. 

“Fantastic season. To go undefeated is no small task,” he said.

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