 "Mikyle Hill")
 "Nick Walch")
It took an extra day to get the job done because of torrential rainfall on Saturday, but the wait proved well worth it for the Dedham High football team, which finally emerged from the ranks of the winless with a 13-7 win over Brookline on Sunday afternoon at Stone Park.
It certainly wasn’t a thing of beauty as Dedham amassed just 90 yards of total offense, but Mikyle Hill returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, Nick Walch hauled in a key third-quarter reception that set up the eventual game-winning score and the defense made a pair of stops late in the fourth quarter to earn victory No. 1.
“We didn’t play great offensively, but we came up with the big plays when we needed them,” said Dedham head coach Keith Comeau, whose team is 1-9 heading into the annual showdown with Norwood on Thanksgiving. “That’s the one thing we need to get better at, taking care of business and finishing games like this off.”
While the Marauders were cherishing their first win of the year, the Warriors quickly got on the school bus with just one game separating them from a winless campaign.
“We came in 0-9 vs. 0-9, but (Dedham) made the plays when they needed to and we didn’t,” said Brookline coach Laz Mitjans, whose squad hosts Newton North on Thanksgiving. “We just couldn’t finish, and that’s been our story all year.”
Hill immediately made a loud statement, gathering a bounding opening kickoff at the 11 and racing back 89 yards for the score 16 seconds into the contest for a 6-0 lead.
“The front and second line were blocking perfect for me,” said Hill. “I spotted an open hole and took it. From there it was up to me to beat the last guy.”
The Warriors fired back on their first possession, however, erasing the Dedham lead when Arthur Azatyants put some air under a deep ball, finding Jacob Page for a 41-yard touchdown. It capped a six-play, 70-yard drive for a 7-6 lead following a successful PAT from Irvin Scott with 8:45 left in the first quarter.
Hill and teammate Walch each came up with a game-changing defensive plays during the first half. Azatyants, who was 10-for-22 passing for 119 yards with a touchdown and an interception, went deep for Page, who had gotten behind the Dedham secondary, but Hill closed the gap and swatted the ball away as it fell incomplete.
On the final play of the first half, Azatyants tossed a Hail Mary into the end zone looking for a white jersey, but Walch made a leaping grab with Brookline receivers around him for the interception as time expired.
Dedham’s first possession of the second half yielded what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. From the Dedham 40, Bernie Girard (16 carries, 37 yards) picked up a couple of yards, but what really undid the Warriors on this series was penalties. A 15-yard face mask penalty, one of 10 for the game that cost them 100 yards, put the ball at the Brookline 35.
From there, quarterback Dan O'Connor, with a defender in his face as he let the pass go, found Walch for a 29-yard gain. Shane Lowe scored from 6 yards out on the next play for a 13-7 lead with 5:17 left in the third quarter.
As dusk fell in the fourth quarter, Brookline had a pair of decent chances to wrestle the lead back, reaching the Dedham 27 and 25 consecutively, but was unable to get any deeper as the Marauders defense clamped down.
“I’ve talked all year about how hard these guys work,” said Comeau. “Even when the score seems to be out of hand, these guys never, ever gave up. It’s been very rewarding and I hope they relish this victory. All the hard work from the entire season has finally paid off.”
