Jack Showstead, Natick post impressive win over Wellesley

NATICK – It took until the final play, but Natick is back on top of the Bay State Carey Division after two straight seasons with second-place finishes.

Wellesley held the crown the past two years and played hard until the final whistle, but fell just short 27-18 on the road at Memorial Field as the teams will at least share the Bay State Carey crown.

“It was a couple years ago, but it still feels really good,” said Natick coach Mark Mortarelli about getting at least a share of the Bay State Carey.

With a 20-12 advantage in the fourth, junior Jack Showstead took it 97 yards to the house and made it 27-12 with 6:02 left.

“(Showstead) is such a big part of our team on both sides of the ball,” Mortarelli said about the junior. “He recovered the onside kick. He had the long touchdown on the counter. He returned the kick and made a million tackles. He’s one heck of a player.”

Showstead also scored in the second quarter to make it 13-6 as that score held until the half thanks in big part to a fourth-down tackle for senior captain Cam Hubbard to keep the Wellesley (5-2) drive from continuing with less than a minute left in the first half.

“Hubbard is our heart and soul,” Mortarelli said about Hubbard being able to make the stop. “He runs the ball very well and when we need him on defense we play him. He’s probably one of the best linebackers around.”

For Natick (6-1), Hubbard rushed the ball 20 times for 78 yards and a pair of scores and none bigger than a two-yard rushing score with 11:55 to go to cap a 15-play, 49-yard drive that ate 10:54 off the clock. This all came after an interception for junior James Mortarelli early in the third.

“Giving it back to the offense, it is a huge booster,” Hubbard said about the key turnover. “Right off a pick, everybody’s hyped up. You get going and it’s easier to move the ball when you’re amped up.”

Hubbard also ran it in from two yards out to put the Redhawks up 7-0 on their opening drive.

For the Raiders, sophomore Luka Prock connected on 20-of-37 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The first cut the deficit to 7-6 late in the first as he found Tennyson Charney from 26 yards out.

Prock added two more in the fourth as he made it 20-12 with 6:19 left on a fourth down pass to junior captain Matthew Liebman. A 21-yard pass on fourth down to senior Owen Frampton with 21 ticks remaining cut the deficit to 27-19 before Showstead recovered the onside kick attempt for Wellesley.

Natick will finish up the regular season at home against Milton next Friday at 5:30 p.m. Wellesley will play at home at Weymouth at 4:30 p.m. next Friday.