MARLBOROUGH – The Shamrocks’ 18-point first half lead turned into an eight-point fourth quarter deficit. But after a missed field goal by their opponents, Marlborough’s offense had the ball with more than five minutes left and a chance to tie the game.
But after a scuffle and words exchanged, the officiating crew of the July 20 matchup between the Marlborough Shamrocks and the Northeast Bulls declared game over.
Speaking moments later, Shamrocks Head Coach Harrison Ingels had some information but little explanation for what happened.
“I’ve never been a part of anything like that,” he said.
According to Ingels, one referee said a Northeast player threatened him on multiple occasions. Ingles said the referee called the game, as a result, and said the Bulls would be issued a forfeit.
On the opposite side of Kelleher Field, Bulls Head Coach Justin Camp shared Ingels’ confusion but disputed accusations against his team.
“[The referee] said somebody threatened him,” Camp said. “Nobody said anything.”
“I honestly don’t understand why the game has ended,” he said.
Referees in the East Coast Football League have ended games after altercations between players. However, such calls are often confined to games where one team has a significant lead.
Despite a second half collapse that left Marlborough staring down its fifth consecutive defeat this summer, Shamrocks player Michael Hurst said that Saturday’s game was hardly lost.
“We still have five minutes left,” he said. “We still have a drive to make. We’re only down by eight and trying to build that momentum and finish the game off strong and then something like that happens.”
Marlborough roared to an early lead against the Bulls, opening a 9-0 lead with a safety, a touchdown run by Brett Anctil and an extra point kick. The Shamrocks added two more touchdowns before halftime, but they stumbled in the third quarter, letting the Bulls into the endzone twice.
The Bulls tacked on another touchdown in the fourth quarter, opening a 32-24 lead and setting up a nail biting finish for Marlborough fans.
Instead of seeing such a finale, fans filed out of Kelleher Field without clear answers about the game’s result.
The Community Advocate reached out to officials with the East Coast Football League for clarification about what happened but did not hear back as of Sunday night.
Shamrocks General Manager Adam Ingels said Sunday afternoon that he was told league leaders would meet Tuesday “to discuss all of this.”
In the meantime, Hurst said his team “is at a crossroads.”
“We’re at that point where we’ve got to do a gut check,” he said. “If we’re not willing to do it, then the rest of the season is going to keep going downhill. But if we man up and we do what we need to do, we’ll turn it around and we’ll finish strong.”
“Everything has to be earned,” Harrison Ingels said. “Every other team is making the same sacrifices. If we’re not willing to match that, I don’t know why people would expect anything different.”
The Shamrocks are scheduled to be back in action on Aug. 3 on the road against the Boston Bandits.
