FALL RIVER — Colin Rodrigues has had a rough year for the New Bedford football team.
Hobbled with injuries since Week 3, the senior quarterback fought hard to get back on the gridiron, especially for the 131st meeting against Durfee on Thanksgiving Day.
Rodrigues did not disappoint, throwing for three touchdown passes to lead the Whalers to a hard-fought 26-21 victory over the Hilltoppers before a large crowd at B.M.C. Durfee High School on Thanksgiving Day morning.
“We’ve had a rough season with injuries and all that,” Rodrigues said. “We came out and hoped to get the seniors their last win. And we did it in nice fashion. It feels good to come out here and do what I’m expected to do.”
Unlike last season, when both teams had to be seperated at game’s end, the two proud rivals in one of the oldest holiday matchup in the country met at midfield to congratulate each other and gave hugs for a hard-fought game. Each team was led by their head coaches — Durfee’s Taylor Brown and New Bedford’s Mark DeBrito.
“Our defense stepped up in the second half and shut them out,” DeBrito said. “That was big for us and we were able to get the ball in the end zone a few times. [We] made it a little more interesting at the end.
“Obviously, we wanted to make sure everyone stayed safe and we did not want things to go on. Durfee did a great job, making sure their guys were good and we did a great job. Just the whole city making sure the kids had a fun environment.”
The Hilltoppers (2-9) had their chances against the Whalers (4-7) in a see-saw battle, but came away empty-handed several times in the red zone.
“It was a great battle,” Brown said. “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but we certainly came to play today. We battled until the last whistle. We can’t ask anymore from the kids. They played their butts off. I’m proud of them for that.”
Rodrigues, who finished the game 7-of-10 for 178 yards, got NB on the board first. On first down, Rodrigues threw to Zarari Nunes and Nunes went the distance for a 41-yard touchdown to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.
Durfee’s Nick Wood recovered a fumble deep inside the Whalers 10. Three plays later, KJ Strong took it in from the 1 and Ladaynian Mendes booted the point after to give the Hilltoppers to lead at 7-6.
Rodrigues connected with senior Dezmond Brunskill from 27 yards as NB reclaimed the lead 12-7. Jerren Goodine threw a halfback pass to Rodigues for the 2-point conversion.
The Hilltoppers responded by driving the length of the field and capped the drive with a 2-yard score by Andrew Sanabria. Mendes tacked on the extra point.
An interception by Alvin Gaston led to Strong’s second touchdown of the game to give Durfee the lead at halftime, 21-14.
Bryan Monteiro’s 45-yard touchdown catch from Rodrigues brought NB within one, 21-20. Ednilson Semedo’s interception helped set up Goodine’s 2-yard score to give the Whalers the lead, 26-21, with a 1:52 left in the third.
The Hilltoppers had a long drive that was halted at the NB 11-yard line on fourth down. Durfee got the ball back twice in the final quarter for one final shot at overtaking the Whalers, but Anthony Diakite iced the game for NB with an interception in the closing seconds.
“[Both] teams played good today,” said Strong, who finished with nearly 100 yards rushing. “We balled out and played our best. I will go to war with my guys any day.”
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Chezsports.
