Fake punt keys Stoneham win

WOBURN — This time, Bob Almeida knew it would work.

Pinned in their own territory late in the fourth quarter, the Stoneham High football team faced a familiar predicament. A pivotal 4th and 10 in a tie game presented itself, and Almeida had the perfect play to stun Oakmont Regional.

Lining up in punt formation, Stoneham sent a direct snap to running back Sean Kilty, who picked up a first down on a 24-yard run that opened the door for his game-winning score with 56 seconds left in Saturday’s Div. 6 Round of 16 28-21 victory over No. 15 Oakmont.

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The same play backfired last week, as Stoneham ultimately fell in the season finale to Wakefield. Wakefield head coach John Rafferty, who previously served under Almeida as defensive coordinator, saw the play coming.

“He knew it, and he was yelling it out. I ran the play, got stuffed, and they kicked a field goal. So I wasn’t so smart last week,” Almeida said, laughing.

Glancing across the sidelines at Connolly Memorial Stadium, Almeida didn’t see any old friends on Saturday. The play was a go.

“I didn’t think they had seen it,” Almeida said. “It’s something we practice every single day, and it was a situation that I thought we could get it.”

Kilty netted 149 yards on 22 carries to accompany his two scores.

“My job is literally just to catch the ball and run,” he said on the trick play. “I just lined up where I normally would on punt and waited for the set call.”

Stoneham opened the scoring with 7:29 remaining in the first. Logan Tran and Kilty split the carries, resulting in a 10-yard jaunt from Kilty to provide the hosts with a 7-0 lead. Christian Paolini’s extra point was perfect.

But less than three minutes later, the fast-moving Oakmont offense capitalized on a slant pass from David Roy to Silas Roy, resulting in a 47-yard TD following a race to the goal line. Nahuel Suarez’s extra point evened the contest.

David Roy then slung a 17-yard touchdown pass to Suarez, to take a 13-7 with 9:14 left in the half. Roy nearly eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in the half, totaling 99 yards on 5-for-6 throwing.

After Tran scored a two-yard touchdown to end the first, Stoneham scored on its first drive out of the break as quarterback Sean Powers converted a five-yard touchdown to take a 21-13 lead with 0:34 seconds left in the third.

Oakmont tied the game with 8:23 left on a 14-yard run from James Hamilton III and a successful two-point conversion by Darious Legere, but Stoneham’s late-game magic sent the hosts to the next round.

“It was a hard-fought game, and we were prepared for that,” said Almeida. “We knew that was a tough team that was going to be physical and pound the ball.”