Maxwell brings home Div. IV crown

Sam Alcaraz's fifth interception of the year came with 1 minute and 37 seconds left, taking the wind right out of Quincy's sails and securing an enormous accomplishment for Maxwell High — a Division IV Northern Section championship.

After losing to Fall River in the Division V title game last season, the Panthers took the test of being bumped up a division. They passed, edging Quincy 14-6 at home on Wednesday.

The Panthers (12-1) struck first and held the Trojans scoreless through three quarters of play. Senior quarterback Tyler Wells completed a 45-yard pass to Lane Pearson early in the first quarter. Pearson finished the season with nine touchdown receptions.

Not to be outdone was the Panthers' leading receiver Steven Perry, who finished his senior year with 55 receptions for 1083 yards and 12 touchdowns.

But it was hardly the offense that has powered through Division IV this season, averaging 41 points a game coming into the title match. It was the stubborn defense which allowed just 10 points a game that came through in the clutch.

Wells finished with 12 completions for 139 yards, giving him over 2,500 yards for the season, but didn't stop there. The senior also ran the ball 14 times, tallying 50 yards on the ground. He finished with over 700 yards on the ground as well.

Another piece of the Panthers high-flying offense has been Brett Cabral and he showed what he could do against Quincy in the second quarter.

Cabral dashed 67 yards to put the Panthers up 14-0. He finished with nearly 1,600 yards and 17 touchdowns on the year. Cabral finished with 96 yards on nine carries in the game for the Panthers.

But Quincy marched back and struck when Cameron Diaz Deleon scored from 1 yard out in the fourth quarter.

And on with the two-minute drill on the defense locked down and ended Quincy's title hopes.