2010. Game 5

Well, the Oilers did not succeed in their goal of shocking the EFL by upsetting the reportedly most dominant team the EFL has seen in the last 10 years. But… at the very least the Oilers did send some shockwaves through the league by overcoming significant adversity and nearly pulling off an historic upset. Boston had outscored its opponents 96-7 through 4 games, but on their home field at Boston English High School they got the fight of their lives from an undermanned Oilers team who refused to quit.

The Randolph offense did not click early and Boston jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Some teams may have hung their heads and gone through the motions the rest of the game. After all, the Oilers were without former EFL MVP quarterback Ryan Myers who missed the game due to injury. They were also without former EFL Defensive Player of the Year Dan Carroll, and they were without Vince Wilfork-clone DT Marcus “Mighty Joe” Barrow. They were also without several other members of the defensive secondary which resulted in wide receivers having to play both offense and defense. But the Oilers don’t make excuses, they battle with what they have.

Trailing 14-0 early, the Oilers continued to scrap and claw and behind their young qb James Merrick they cut the deficit in half late in the 2nd quarter, making the game 14-7. The Oilers came out inspired in the 2nd half, but the overall team speed of the Ravens proved tough to contain and the Oilers again fell even further behind.

After 3 quarters the game once again seemed out of reach, with the Ravens jumping out to a 28-7 lead after the Ravens returned a punt for a 75 yard touchdown. But James Merrick had a coming out party and showed the league that he’s the real deal and that the Oilers have not one, but two quarterbacks who can lead the team against any defense in the league.

Trailing 28-7 in the 4th, behind the leadership and inspired play of Merrick, the Oilers drove on the vaunted Raven defense possession after possession. After another Merrick touchdown pass, the Oilers cut the lead to 28-15 after a successful two point conversion. The Oilers defense refused to break in the 4th quarter and repeatedly forced 3 and outs.

After another inspiring stand by the defense, the Oilers offense got the ball back with 5 minutes to play and promptly scored on yet another Merrick touchdown pass making the game 28-22 with just over 3 minutes to play. The defense continued to hang tough, and when Boston went for it on 4th and 2 from just outside of field goal range, Oiler WR Brian Gallo filling at cornerback picked off a Boston pass, and took it 20 yards to almost midfield.

The Oilers offense took over with 52 seconds to play in the game and no timeouts remaining. But alas, the clock was the Oilers enemy. Driving downfield for the go-ahead score trailing by 6, the Oilers were primed for one of the greatest upsets in league history. The Oilers completed two quick passes but the refs ruled the Oiler receivers were down just prior to going out of bounds so the clock continued to run. QB Merrick made heads-up plays by getting the team quickly to the line so he could spike the ball, but unfortunately the clock ran out prior to the Oilers being able to attempt one final hail mary. The Oilers lost by a final score of 28-22.

Defensive leaders Bill Mallory and Anthony “D-Block” Goodwyn set the tempo on defense, while defensive playmakers Colby Gallagher, Karl “Sweet Tea”  Wells, Mike “GI Joe” Eshner, Byron “Shrek” Goss, Norman Burns (1st quarter interception), and Patrick “Assumption” Coughlin delivered hit after hit that slowed the potent Ravens offense in crunch time. The Oilers also received a stellar performance from veteran shutdown corner Mark ”Bullet” Royster, showing why he was an all league corner prior to his one year hiatus last season..

Against a nasty blitzing Boston front 7 the Oilers got perhaps their best offensive line performance of the year. Led by center Brian Burns who sets the tempo for the offensive line with his “take no prisoners” style of blocking, his veteran leadership, and refusal to ever give up, the offensive line was stout all night against the relentless blitzing of Boston. Comprised of Kevin Clark, Pierre Joseph, the aforementioned Big Burns, Dan Quinn,  T.D.Thompson, and Matt “Tree” Stokes, the Oilers O-line gave the team reason to be optimistic that the line could live up to its pre-season billing as the best offensive line in the EFL. Again, “senior statesman” T.D.  Thompson showed his toughness by shrugging off a crushed ankle after being cutblocked during the successful two-point conversion and then having 6’6” 455 pound Boston defensive tackle Paul Jones (weight as reported by the Raves website: http://www.bostonravensfootball.com/index.php?page=Roster) come crashing down on his pinned ankle. The entire Oilers line showed the guts, talent, and determination that it will take for the team to go on the lengthy winning streak it will require for the team to prove it belongs amongst the league’s elite despite the team’s slow start. Also helping to set the tone on offense was enforcer Mike Wright who playing bothe FB, TE, and DT, crushed anyone in his path, probably the same way he did as a Marine during his two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

 
The Oilers dynamic duo at wide receiver, Will Price and Brian Gallo, continued to put on an aerial assault, combing for 3 td catches in the game. As usual they came through with tough catches in the clutch, going up for jump balls and outbattling defenders. And not only did they make big plays on offense, each also showed what team players they are by stepping up and helping the undermanned defense by playing cornerback as well. Price and Gallo showed why they both have been named EFL All Stars in recent seasons.

The Oilers also received inspired running from halfback Brooks Payne. Due to the early deficit the Oilers were not able to utilize the lightning fast and quick-slashing ability of Payne, but when he did get his opportunities he proved why he is perhaps the most underrated running back in the EFL.

But the story of the night was James Merrick, as he stood tough in the pocket all night as Boston repeatedly blitzed 7 or 8 players against the Oilers front 5, hanging onto the ball until the last possible second to let his receivers get open and absorbing some crushing hits in the process. But his gutsiness paid off as he threw 3 touchdown strikes in the game:  two to Will Price and one to Brian Gallo (who almost had a 2nd td after hauling in a 70 yard touchdown pass, but it was called back on a questionable penalty). Merrick also picked up a huge first down on a 25+ yard run where he refused to be denied. 
 

The bottom line is the Oilers do not accept “moral victories.” So despite the gusty effort, the 28-22 defeat still counts as a loss in the standings. When it comes to playoff seedings this will loss still show up in the L column, it will count no more than any other loss the Oilers have endured this season, and no one will remember that it coulda woulda shoulda been the night that the Oilers “shocked the world.” But hopefully where it will show up is in the team’s confidence- despite the adversity the Oilers players who took the field this evening showed they can hang with the league’s “elite” team. The Oilers showed heart, toughness, talent, perseverance, and the will to win. Whether or not the Oilers can take the positives from this game and go on an extended winning streak is still to be determined. It starts with practice and commitment, and the Oilers will see at practices going forward if enough players are willing to sacrifice enough to turn this season around and make a championship run. All indications from tonight’s epic battle are that the Oilers are ready to make that commitment and take a quantum leap forward and to come together as 11-11-1 and to show the league that you can never EVER count out the Blue and Gold.