Dorchester Bears Dominate Rematch with Madison Park Cardinals, 22-0

Written and Photographed by Nate Weitzer

The last time the Madison Park Cardinals faced the Dorchester Bears on a football field, Dorchester squeaked out a 16-14 victory in an instant classic at White Stadium. The unofficial City Championship pitted the winners of the North and South divisions against each other, two equally matched rivals who both ended up losing in their respective Super Bowl match ups (Cathedral defeated Madison Park in the 4a Super Bowl while Dorchester lost to Upper Cape in the Divison 5 Super Bowl).

However when the Cardinals hosted Dorchester on Friday, September 13th, there was nothing equal about the contest. The Bears dominated from the opening kickoff as they scored touchdowns on their first two drives and held the Cardinals to minus-11 yards in the entire first half. 

Madison Park seems to be a team in rebuilding mode. The Cardinals only returned three starters this year, and they have a total of nine upperclassmen on the 2013 roster. Conversely, Dorchester has 20 upperclassmen on the roster, including last year's Defensive Player of the Year in Leon Sealy. Head Coach Rich Moran implemented a game-plan that was designed to stop the run, and Sealy spearheaded the execution of that plan.

Leon Sealy (#9) disrupts a running play in the backfield for a loss of five yards

“We have a lot of seniors coming back,’’ Moran told the Boston Globe. “Last year, believe it or not, we were young so we played a lot of juniors, and they are all back [this year]. So when we went into camp, the kids were ready to go. They knew we could input a lot of information and things like that, so things just clicked right away.”

Johnny Mims walks in for a two-point conversion on the Bears' first drive

Junior running back Johnny Mims, a transfer from Cambridge Rindge & Latin, made a splash in his debut for the Bears. The newcomer ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on eight carries in the first half alone. He also tacked on a two-point conversion on the Bears first drive. Seniors Demetrius Leary and Trevaughn McCoy (7 rushes for 52 yards) ran for scores as well.

Travaughn McCoy (#22) runs left on a toss play in the second quarter

 At 22-0, the game was essentially over by halftime, and then in the second half, the skies opened up.

The beautiful view of Boston's skyline was obscured as Madison Park's field was enveloped in heavy rain, but the game went on. The Cardinals seemed to benefit from the adverse conditions, as they managed to earn two first downs for the first time all afternoon. Senior running back Orryan Brown ran for 26 yards in the second half, and Madison Park managed to keep the Bears out of the end zone by managing the game through field positioning.

After numerous turnovers, penalties, and some minor injuries the game, and the rain, desisted nearly simultaneously. Both teams clearly have a lot of things to work on early in the season, but the Bears seem to be the only squad of the two that is capable of repeating last year's results.