Furtado Leads Case to 49’er Trophy Win
Posted on November 27th 2011
By Jan Taylor
SWANSEA, Mass. --- Kyle Matias scored in the last minute of the game to help the Case Cardinals beat the Somerset-Berkley Blue Raiders, 22-15, at Cardinal Stadium in Swansea. This was the first time that Case won on Thanksgiving since 2005. Unlike previous seasons when Somerset-Berkley had much better records than Case, both teams had nearly identical records this year.
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first when junior quarterback Taylor Furtado (pictured left) scored a 40 yard touchdown with 4:12 remaining in the first quarter. Their two point conversion was successful to put Case ahead 8-0. That touchdown was the first time that Case scored against Somerset-Berkley since 2006.
Somerset-Berkley tied the game early in the second quarter when junior running back Mike Garrant scored a 76 yard touchdown. He also completed the two point conversion to tie the game 8-8.
Later on in the second quarter, Case’s Austin Cooper scored a three yard touchdown to put the Cardinals ahead again, 14-8.
After a scoreless third quarter, Somerset-Berkley went ahead for the first time when Garrant scored his second touchdown of the game on a one yard run with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. T.J. Eisele kicked the extra point to put Somerset-Berkley ahead, 15-14.
After that touchdown, it seemed like the Blue Raiders would win the 49’er trophy for the sixth straight season. But the Cardinals had other plans. Case went ahead for good when Furtado connected with Matias for a 27 yard touchdown with 1:12 remaining in the game.
“This was the best game of my high school career thus far,” Furtado, who was the Most Valuable Player, said after the game. “We knew going into this season that we had a good chance of beating our rival this year, and we worked hard all season to finally win the 49’er trophy.”
Furtado has been one of the key players who has helped Case rebuild a program that has struggled to win games in recent years. Even though Case lost the majority of its games this season, most of the games they lost were close games.”
“I am already looking forward to next season,” said Furtado. “We will definitely continue to be even more competitive next year and try to finish with a winning record.”
Case finished the season 4-6, which was the best season they have had in recent years. Somerset-Berkley finished 4-7 after making the Super Bowl last year.
