'Bad Dawgs' headed to New England semifinals

By MATT JENKINS

News staff

Facing fourth-and-short situations are no-brainers for Mike Nardella.

It's not that Nardella, the Beverly Pop Warner 'B' football coach, has more offensive weapons at his disposal than St. Louis Rams' coach Mike Martz. But he does have the luxury of a defense that neither bends nor breaks in pressure situations.

"Having a defense like ours makes it a lot easier on 4th-and-1 or 4th-and-2. Most coaches punt, but I feel confident going for it. If we don't make it, the defense will bail me out," Nardella said. "We've gambled a few times, and so far it's paid off."

The Beverly defense has not only made it easier on Nardella's playbook, but it has also catapulted the team into the New England semifinals this Sunday.

Nardella's crew has won its last six contests, four of which were playoff victories, without allowing a single point. The Beverly defense, which has allowed only 18 points in 12 games this year, has not given up any points since a 6-0 loss to Triton in the regular season.

The Bad Dawgs, as they like to be called, exacted revenge on Triton a couple of weeks ago (18-0), and have since added an 18-0 win over Marlboro in the Eastern Mass. Championship and a 14-0 shutout over the South County Indians of Central Mass. in the state championship.

The Dawgs are now just two wins shy of a trip to play at Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex in the Pop Warner Super Bowl format.

Pat Bailey, J. Michael Nardella, and Jeff Jones each had touchdown runs in the Dawgs' win over Marlboro for the Eastern Mass. championship.

In the state final, quarterback Brendan Fullerton threw a 35-yard strike to J. Michael Nardella, and Bailey scored on a run off tackle to account for the two touchdowns.

Beverly has plenty of offensive weapons (15 different Dawgs have crossed the goal line this fall), but the team is obviously defined by the defense.

"They love the big hit. They get excited for it. They love to see how many guys can hit the ballcarrier," said Nardella. "We play (defense) very basic. The linebackers make most of the tackles. The defensive line knows it's not going to get the glory, but if the linebackers are making the tackles, we know they did their job."

According to Nardella, the Beverly players take so much pride in their defense that they actually want to kick off to open the game.

"Against Marlboro Jared Kusiak kicked it long to start the game and we got down field and jarred the ball loose. We scored three plays later," Nardella explained. "They like to set the tone. They like to kick off first because that way they get to hit first."

Besides the defense, another equally important aspect to Beverly is the team focus that the coaching staff teaches.

Nardella and assistant coaches Ron MacNeill, Tom Richardson, Dan Bailey, and Tony Belmonte teach this group of 12 and 13 year olds that no one player is more important than the team. In turn, the coaching staff has found that it gets contributions from everyone.

Sam Rinaldo and David Jones are just two players who have made a surprising impact this fall. Both are first year players and each has found a spot in the starting lineup. Rinaldo plays center, while Jones is a fixture on the defensive line.

Nardella also pointed to twins Sean and Steve Hutchinson for the team's success. The Hutchinson's are not starters, but they both have the heart of champions.

Now, the Dawgs are focussed on becoming champions yet again (the same basic group of players won the C team regionals last year), and the possible trip to Disney World.

"They started talking about that right after last year knowing we could have gone if they had held it for our division," said Nardella, who also noted that the fundraising plans have already started. "This year it's sort of been their goal."