Last modified: Sunday, December 2, 2007 12:33 AM EST Bishop Feehan's Nicholas Schwieger carries for one of his four touchdowns Saturday night. (Staff photo by MARK STOCKWELL) Shamrocks are champs! BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO - Down to the wire again? No problem. In this postseason, the Bishop Feehan High School football team not only dealt with last-minute pressure, they thrived upon it. That was plainly evident when senior defensive back Nick Linehan ripped the ball out of Walpole receiver Marc Carrie's hands in the end zone with 41 seconds left to play, preserving the Shamrocks' 26-20 triumph over the Rebels in the MIAA Eastern Mass. Division 2 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium. The thrilling ending brought a fitting end to a 13 -hour football marathon at the stadium, in which six divisional champions were crowned before a total crowd of 25,723 that braved bone-chilling winds and temperatures that dropped into the high teens before Feehan's victory was complete. Colder than the weather was the feeling in the hearts of the 11-2 Rebels, whose two second-half fumbles helped to sidetrack their hopes for a divisional championship over the 10-2-1 Shamrocks, who earned their eighth straight win Saturday. "We moved the ball," said Walpole coach Danny Villa, alluding to the Rebels' 335 yards of total offense. "But we had a couple of turnovers we shouldn't have had, turnovers that we haven't made all year. Those guys are our playmakers … what can you do?" The game was an evenly matched battle of featured running backs, Walpole's Ryan Izzo and Bishop Feehan's Nick Schwieger, each of whom scored all of their team's touchdowns Izzo, a talented youngster with Mansfield roots, carried 19 times for 148 yards and caught four passes for 70 yards, scoring on runs of 6 and 26 yards and on a 41-yard reception. Schwieger carried 26 times for 142 yards, and added one TD catch for 25 yards in addition to his touchdown runs of 10, 1 and 33 yards. "We had to work hard for everything that we got," Feehan coach Tony Wood said. "But it was nice to get those first two opening drives. It was awesome." As Wood said, his team scored on both of its half-opening drives. But even though Walpole appeared to have the firepower to match score for score, Wood and his Shamrocks stayed the course and stuck with a successful game plan. "At the half we didn't change too much," he said. "We just made a couple of adjustments. You could tell the kids were into the game even before the game." Feehan struck first with a game-opening, 13-play, 79-yard drive in which Schwieger carried six times for 30 yards. Mike McGowan (8-13, 127 yards) also added a 20-yard pass to Linehan to reach the Walpole 30, after which McGowan ran the option for 8 yards and Schwieger carried on the last three totes, the final one a 10-yard burst off left tackle. Matt Boulter added the kick for a 7-0 lead with 4:17 left in the opening quarter. Walpole countered with a sustained drive of its own, 63 yards on eight plays leading to Izzo's 6-yard scamper up the middle on the first play of the second quarter. Izzo matched Schwieger's output on the possession, carrying six times for 31 yards, and quarterback Sonny Mastromatteo completed a 28-yard pass to Derek Hand to reach the Shamrock 15. Feehan responded with another scoring march of 73 yards in seven plays, but McGowan took a more active hand with passes of 12 yards to Linehan (four catches, 57 yards) and 24 yards to Boulter. The latter set up Schwieger's 33-yard run for the score on a third-and-14 pitchout to the right. But the Shamrocks failed to add extra points when a direct snap attempt to Boulter rolled away toward the Walpole sideline and was covered by the junior receiver. After two quick possessions, Walpole's Nick Mastromatteo (the quarterback's brother) broke a 44-yard punt return with 2:21 left in the half to put Walpole in striking range at the Feehan 26. Izzo made short order of that on the first play of the possession, ranging to his left and then employing a quick burst to reach the end zone with 2:12 left. His kick sailed wide right, however, creating the 13-13 tie at halftime. Mistakes doomed the Rebels in the second half. First, Izzo fumbled at the tail end of a 15-yard gain on the opening possession, with Ted Schwieger recovering for the Shamrocks at the Walpole 49. McGowan quickly picked up 20 yards on a pass to Boulter, and three plays later, on a fourth-and-6 play, Nick Schwieger weaved his way behind the Walpole coverage and was wide open along the left sideline for a 25-yard scoring pass. Boulter added the extra point, putting the Shamrocks up 20-13 with 7:19 left in the quarter. Four plays into the next Walpole possession, disaster struck again when Boulter recovered a fumble by Nick Mastromatteo at the end of an 18-yard pass from his brother, giving Feehan possession again at its own 40. Nothing came of that opportunity, but time was beginning to grow short for the Rebels, who were finding it hard to get past midfield on an inspired Shamrock defense. "We just wanted to keep them off the field," Schwieger said. "We got some good hits on them at the line of scrimmage and the backfield." In this instance, the best defense was also a good offense. Taking over via punt on the first play of the fourth quarter, they put together another sustained march - 13 plays, 78 yards, taking 6:24 off the clock - to mount a 26-13 lead. Schwieger ripped off gains of 25 and 11 yards behind the strong blocking of Mynor Chacon and Boulter, and when faced with a fourth-and-goal just inches away from paydirt, he relied on his big right guard, Chris Harris, to clear a path into the end zone with 3:30 left to play. Boulter's kick was blocked, however, and that left the door open for the Rebels. Running an outstanding hurry-up offense, Mastromatteo completed three straight passes in a drive that started on his own 42 (courtesy of a 27-yard kickoff return by Izzo) to pull back within six points. The clincher was a short pass over the middle to Izzo from the Feehan 41, which the outstanding sophomore running back, double-covered at the time, turned into a touchdown with a burst of speed. "He's such a high-powered back, one of the best backs we've seen," Schwieger said admiringly of his opposite number. Izzo's kick made it 26-20 with 2:31 left, and Walpole spent all of its timeouts on the last possession to get the ball back with 1:55 to go. Again, Mastromatteo proved adept at running the two-minute drill. After an opening incompletion from the Walpole 38, he threw for 11 yards to Nick Mastromatteo and 19 and 10 to Izzo, setting up a first down at the Feehan 22. But on the next pass, Mastromatteo couldn't get the ball past Linehan on a throw into the end zone intended for Carrie. The 6-foot-3 senior grabbed the ball out of Carrie's grasp in midair for an interception and touchback for the Shamrocks with 41 seconds left to play - and, of course, a divisional championship. MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com