DIGHTON — With Dighton-Rehoboth and Plymouth South each scoring on its opening series, it looked like the Division 4 South semifinal could turn into a high-scoring affair.
But Dighton-Rehoboth’s defense had other ideas.
The Falcons defense caged the Panthers, allowing just 80 yards of offense and no first downs in the second half to lead the way to a 26-6 win at Robert T. Roy Field yesterday.
“Some of the kids only just play defense and they want nothing to do with playing offense,” said D-R coach Dave Moura as the Falcons (7-2) advance to the South final against Milton. “We try to get them in on offense in practice and they run away. They want to play defense. It’s nice to have. It’s (the team’s) victory. They earned it.”
A 2-yard touchdown run by Matt Harrington midway through the first quarter got Plymouth South (4-5) within a point and answered D-R’s score, which came on the fourth play from scrimmage on a 32-yard pitch-and-catch from Harrison Pray to Chase Carroll.
While D-R’s offense is predicated on the run game, it was Pray that ignited the Falcons attack by completing 6-of-11 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
Pray put D-R (7-2) ahead late in the first quarter when he launched a 55-yard touchdown pass to Brian Ripley for a 13-6 lead. D-R extended its advantage to 19-6 with 3:49 left in the second quarter on a 7-yard scamper to pay dirt by Joe Carrera.
Pray then capped the scoring late in the third quarter by throwing a touchdown pass to a third different receiver when he hit Owen Arden from 22 yards out.
“Everybody’s doing their job,” Pray said. “Those touchdowns don’t happen if you don’t have guys blocking for you and the receivers don’t run the right routes. Everyone does it as a group.”
Playing with the lead, D-R’s defense asserted its dominance and came up with a key play in the final seconds of the first half when Matt Moura picked off a pass in the Falcons’ red zone.
Just two plays into the third quarter, Jaren Ramos intercepted a deep ball to begin D-R’s second-half stranglehold.
DIGHTON-REHOBOTH 26, PLYMOUTH SOUTH 6
Plymouth South (4-5) 6 0 0 0 — 6
Dighton-Rehoboth (7-2) 13 6 7 0 — 26
DR — Chase Carroll 32 pass from Harrison Pray (Dylan Iodice kick)
PS — Matt Harrington 2 run (Kick failed)
DR — Brian Ripley 55 pass from Pray (Kick failed)
DR — Joe Carrera 7 run (Rush failed)
DR — Owen Arden 22 pass from Pray (Iodice kick)
