SOMERSET - Another shutout, another win and - perhaps most importantly -another Eastern Athletic Conference banner to hang.

With an unrelenting defensive effort and a couple of insurance touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the Bishop Feehan High football team officially punched its ticket to the MIAA Playoffs with a 23-0 road win over Somerset Friday night, winning the EAC title in the process.

The win sends Bishop Feehan back to the MIAA Playoffs for a rematch with Hockomock League representative Mansfield, the Shamrocks winning last year 23-21 in the semifinals before going on to beat Walpole in the Division 2 Super Bowl. But Somerset proved to be a pesky opponent and wasn't quite the walkover some might have expected, what with Feehan coming in at 7-1 (2-0 EAC) and the Blue Raiders coming in a 4-4 (1-1 EAC).

"You have to give (Somerset) a lot of credit. They're a tough team and they forced us to do some things we didn't want to do," said Feehan coach Tony Wood. "They played us really tough defensively, but it was good to see our guys respond the way they did. They never panicked."

The Shamrocks could have hit the panic button at halftime, as they surprisingly only led by a 3-0 score, the points coming via a Stan Pacuk 24-yard field goal on Feehan's opening possession. But Bishop Feehan's defense never gave the Raiders a sniff after the intermission, and the team's stout offensive line took control, leading to three, second-half rushing touchdowns. "You can't say enough about the offensive line," added Wood, "they took the game over I thought, and allowed us to really move the ball on the ground."

As impressive as the Feehan offensive line was, especially in the second half, the defense was even better.

And it wasn't just this game - holding Somerset to just 77 yards and five first downs while recovering two fumbles and forcing an interception. Actually, this has been going on for some time now, as the Shamrocks extended their shutout streak to an amazing 14 quarters. The Shamrocks, who now have four shutouts on the season, haven't given up any points since a second-quarter field goal in a 21-3 win over Bishop Stang back on Oct. 25.

"The defense sure has been playing well, hasn't it?" Wood said. "Somerset has some players, but our guys did a nice job."

Somerset actually got three of its five first downs on its opening drive of the game, and moved the ball swiftly with its spread offense despite a persistent drizzle and heavy fog. Quarterback Jake Scott worked out of the shotgun and was frequently alone in the backfield, the Raiders going with five wideouts at a time. The Shamrocks didn't have an answer for the inside handoffs to Jesse Perrin, who picked up gains of 8, 12 and 11 yards as Somerset drove down to the Bishop Feehan 29-yard line. But, with 2:53 left in the first quarter and Somerset on the march, Wood called a timeout.

"We needed to settled things down defensively and we needed to stop their rhythm," said Wood.

And the break worked. Two plays later, Tom Effler recovered a fumble to preserve the 3-0 lead.

Somerset managed just three yards of offense the rest of the half and the Shamrocks got a huge interception from Bryan Webb down around the Feehan goal-line to keep the shutout streak alive. The Raiders had taken over at the Feehan 25-yard line following a Dennis Pritchard fumble recovery.

Feehan found the end zone for the first time midway through the third quarter, Webb with a 12-yard scoring run off right tackle. His score was set up by a key third-and-long conversion pass from Tommy Romero to Joe Knaub, the play covering 19 yards. A shanked Somerset punt that netted no yards also helped set up the score.

The Shamrocks recovered a fumble at the end of the third quarter and parlayed that into another touchdown, Webb with a 3-yard run off the left side. It was Webb's 13-yard run on fourth-and-1 that kept the drive alive. Pacuk's PAT was blocked, but Somerset linebacker Tyler Lyne was forced out of bounds shy of the end zone after a return of nearly 80 yards. Feehan's final score was set up by another special teams play, David Beissner blocking a punt and Knaub returning it to the Somerset 12. Three plays later fullback Ted Schwieger plowed in from two yards out, helping to up the score to 23-0. The Shamrock defense kept Somerset off the scoreboard the final five minutes of the game, work defensively by Pat Beksha and Effler finishing off the shutout.

"Any win's a good win, but with what was on the line and under these conditions, we're pretty happy," said Wood.