Mixed results for Pop Warner squads

The West Lynn Pop Warner D squad football team saw its hopes of a trip to the Pop Warner National Championships in Florida dashed following an 18-12 loss to Portsmouth, R.I., Saturday in the New England Regional semifinals at Bedford High School in New Hampshire.A win would have brought the Lynn team to within a game of qualifying for the nationals.Things got off to a rocky start for West Lynn when Portsmouth ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead. The Rams got that one back on a 60-yard touchdown run by Tajh Purder and from that point on, it was a battle. West Lynn fumbled the ball, but then came up big on defense to keep Portsmouth out of the end zone.The Rams took a 12-6 lead before the half on another touchdown run by Purder, this time of about about 20 yards.?We went into the half feeling pretty good about ourselves,” coach Jeff Hill said. “We were playing pretty good football.”Neither team did any scoring in the third quarter, but the fourth quarter was a different story. West Lynn recovered a fumble with six minutes left, but Portsmouth got the ball right back when the Rams fumbled on the next play. Portsmouth quickly drove down field and scored to tie the game, 12-12.?Prior to those mistakes, we had some good runs called back on penalties,” Hill said. “We kept digging a hole and digging a hole. We kept finding ourselves at second or third down and long.”West Lynn had another shot at the end zone with a little under four minutes left in the game. Quarterback Jeff Hill connected on a pass, but the receiver took a hard hit and fumbled the ball. Portsmouth was right there to make it hurt. The Rhode Island team scored and regulation ended in a 12-12 tie.West Lynn got the ball first in overtime, but couldn’t put it in from the 10. Portsmouth had better luck on its possession, finding the end zone in two plays.?Those flags were flying,” Hill said. “It took us out of our rhythm.”Hill said it?s tough to win when the mistakes, fumbles and penalties start piling up.?I give them a lot of credit. They were a decent team,” Hill said. “We didn’t play our best game.”Although the D squad won’t be heading to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports next month, West Lynn?s A squad has already qualified and is in the process of trying to raise money for the trip.?I’m very proud of the kids,” Hill said. “Sometimes you win those close ones, sometimes you lose them. We came out on the short end of the stick Saturday, but it was a great season. The kids worked hard. I’m so proud of all of them. They have nothing to hang their heads over. Someone has to win, someone has to lose.”East Lynn Pop WarnerThe East Lynn Pop Warner D and B football teams will play for New England Division 3 championships this Saturday after winning their semifinal games over the weekend. The A squad bowed out of the tournament with a 34-0 loss to Connecticut in the Eastern Mass final.The B and D squads will go no further even if they win the New England Division 3 championships, which is where the runners-up in the Eastern Mass regionals go once they lose.The East Lynn D team is coached by Peter Dow with Dave Brown serving as an assistant. The D team won its game against the North County Panthers from Central Mass, 7-0,The game was scoreless at the half. East Lynn finally broke the ice at the end of the third quarter when Mathias Fowler capped a 45-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. David Brown Jr. ran it in for the extra point and a 7-0 East Lynn lead that would hold up down the stretch thanks to some stellar defense.Fowler had a pick in the third quarter and another in the fourth, which stopped a Panther drive at the East Lynn 30. Marquese Avery had two forced fumbles and three sacks for the Bulldogs. Jack Marks had a tremendous game at defensive end and did a great job on the offensive line with Michael Welch and Ali Barry. Kyle Durant ran the show at quarterback for Lynn.The D team will play the North Attleboro Rockets for the New England Division