By Mike Grenier
SALEM — A casual observer might say that the Salem High football team got itself an ugly win last night. The Witches didn't display much offense and they really didn't manage the clock very well down the stretch.
However, when you invest as much emotion as Salem does and you stay the course through an extremely frustrating stretch of losing, well, there was nothing ugly about it. In fact, the Witches would tell you that Max Feeley's 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was about the most beautiful thing in the world because it made the difference in a 10-7 Northeastern Conference win over Revere before a sparse crowd at Bertram Field.
"You have no idea how good this feels," Feeley, 16, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound junior said after the Witches snapped a six-game losing streak and improved to 2-8.
"This is a win for the whole team," added Feeley, deflecting credit for his clutch kick. "We came together tonight. We're a tight-knit team. It's really a family and that's really important through the ups and downs."
It was Salem's first successful field goal since the 2007 season, when Dan Reddy booted a school record 43-yarder to beat Lynn English, 17-13.
"I just tried to focus on the uprights and my follow through," said Feeley. "I didn't want to short it. I got a good snap (from Scott Kugel) and a good hold (from Joey Dinh). The coaches had faith in me and I didn't want to disappoint them."
Salem positioned itself to win it early in the fourth quarter thanks to a two-yard punt by Revere that allowed the Witches to set up shop at the Patriots' 20-yard line. Salem couldn't punch it into the end zone, but it did reach the Revere 5-yard line and, on fourth and four, Salem coach Scott Connolly sent his field goal team out there. Feeley appeared calm through the whole process and nailed the 22-yarder to break a 7-7 tie with 7:25 remaining.
"We practiced (field goals) down here (Thursday night) and Max was money," said Connolly.
Now it was up to Salem's defense to preserve the lead and it got a little scary at the end. After not allowing a big play all night, Revere's Trea Weathers (21 carries, 112 yards) broke off a 38-yard run to the Salem 15 with a minute remaining. But Revere shot itself in the foot on what could've been the winning drive when quarterback Paul Norton twice ran past the line of scrimmage before releasing a pass, automatically negating the plays. One of those passes, with less than 20 seconds left, was a touchdown, but it was an easy call for the officials to reverse.
"The defense came through and it's a big win on Senior Night," said Antonio Reyes, who had a big interception in the fourth quarter. "We prepared hard this week and for (Feeley) to kick it under pressure like that, it doesn't get any better than that."
Revere (2-8) drew first blood in this one when Wethers barged in from the four. Bryan Robichaud, a 6-1, 325-pound lineman, kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 7:46 left in the hand.
Edwin Guzman's lengthy kickoff return put the Witches in business at the 50 and Salem methodically worked it downfield until quarterback Brad Skeffington went in from the one. Feeley kicked the extra point to make it 7-all and it remained that way until Feeley got his field goal opportunity in the fourth.
"It feels good," said Reyes. "We've got two wins but it's not about that on Thanksgiving (against Beverly). "That's going to be our Super Bowl game. It's going to be a heart and pride game."
And if Salem's defense (just 21 points allowed in the last two games) keeps this up and Feeley gets a chance to kick again in a tight game, the Witches have a fighting chance.
