This story originally ran in The Standard-Times on Oct. 8, 2005.

By Nick Tavares
Standard-Times staff writer

SWANSEA — Big plays and great timing kept Wareham undefeated last night.

Behind the arm of quarterback Mike Laperriere and key plays from their offensive backs, The Vikings held off Case last night, 36-16.

Laperriere threw for 207 yards passing, all in the first quarter, and two touchdowns in the face of a pressing Case defense.

"They were playing nine in the box," said Wareham head coach Dan Nault. "So any ball we threw deep, there was no one home.

"The problem was getting in a position to throw downfield, but Mike's athletic ability made that happen."

Wareham (5-0) scored its first touchdown at 954 of the first quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run by Keith Patterson. The first play of that drive was a 41-yard completion from Laperriere to junior receiver Evan Hogan.

After missing the 2-point attempt, Wareham scored again three minutes later when Laperriere found Darryl Foote for a 55-yard touchdown pass, and the Vikings were ahead 12-0.

Case (0-4) answered twice in the half, though. Joel Banaszek ran for a touchdown and the two points to bridge the gap to 12-8, and after Laperriere found senior Joey Grant with 221 remaining, Case scored again with no time left to make it 20-16 at the half.

But Wareham changed up their game plan for the second half, and Case never got close again.

After recovering a punt in the third quarter, Wareham ran the ball eight straight plays, capped by an 18-yard jaunt by Grant to pad the score to 28-16.

Two possessions later, the Vikings' Cedric Lopes intercepted a pass from Case quarterback Kurt Hawes and ran it back a touchdown to seal the victory.

"I listen to the kids, the kids tell me what I need to know," Nault said. "We could've thrown the ball in the second half, but we started running it. The halftime adjustment worked well, and we were getting 6, 7, 8 yards a crack.

"We're eating clock and we're moving the ball, and then Cedric's ball finished it off."

Backup quarterback Bo Fernandes entered the game on Wareham's next possession to put the finishing touches on the win.

"This is still a very young team," Nault said. "Maturity's an issue, and I see them maturing every week."

Contact Nick Tavares at at ntavares@s-t.com

Wareham 36, Case 16

Wareham 0 20 8 8 --36

Case 0 16 0 0 -- 16

Scoring

Second quarter

W Patterson 13 run (run fails), 9:54

W Hogan 55 pass from Laperriere (pass fails), 6:18.

C Banaszek 6 run (DeCof run), 3:23.

W Grant 40 pass from Laperriere (Foote run), 2:21

C N. Monte 5 pass from Hawes (Monte pass from Hawes), 0:00

Third quarter

W Grant 18 run (Foote run), 2:50.

Fourth quarter

W Lopes 25 interception return (Foote run), 7:02.

Individual statistics

Rushing: Wareham Foote 13-61, Grant 4-42; Case B. Monte, 14-54, Banaszek 2-4.

Passing: Wareham Laperriere 11-16-0-207; Case Hawes 3-7-1-42.

Receiving: Wareham Hogan 4-51, Grant 2-63; Case N. Monte 2-15.

This story appeared on Page C7 of The Standard-Times on October 8, 2005.