MARION – There was a sense of uncomfortable familiarity in the air.
Eight days after facing off in the final game of the regular season, Tabor Academy lined up against Buckingham Browne & Nichols for another football game. This time it was for the NEPSAC John Papas Bowl, and the hosting Seawolves rode an electric rushing performance from quarterback Peter Bourque to claim a 42-21 victory.
“It’s an unbelievable group,” Tabor head coach Jeff Moore said. “It’s pretty special when you have a group of kids who love each other and do the right things. They just really love football and want to be coached hard.”
The Seawolves received the opening kickoff and marched down the field to score a touchdown just 42 seconds into the game. Bourque scored it with his feet, the first of five rushing touchdowns from the Michigan commit.
BB&N responded with a lengthy drive that ended with a turnover on downs, but a three-and-out from Tabor handed the ball back to the Knights at their own 25. Damon Taylor led the drive methodically down the field before Vince Snoonian took a jet sweep 29 yards to even the score at seven.
Tabor then pushed the ball down the field but was faced with a fourth-and-goal early in the second quarter. After a great blocking effort by the Seawolves’ offensive line, Bourque charged in for his second touchdown.
“We have one of the best lines in the country, I’d say,” Bourque said. “It’s just so easy to run when they are there.”
The ensuing drive for BB&N stalled out due to dominant play from UCLA commits Carter Gooden and Marcus Almada, who consistently got after Taylor and the Knights dynamic backfield.
“We’ve just spent a lot of time working pass-rush before practice and after practice,” Gooden said. “We move as one unit.”
Tabor would extend the lead to 14 when Bourque finished off the next drive with a 24-yard designed run. However, the Knights responded with a touchdown drive that saw Taylor connect with Ellis Barnes on a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-14 at halftime.
The tight advantage at halftime could have been uncomfortable for a Tabor team that had largely blown out opponents throughout the season. However, Moore said that the team focused on limiting the Knights’ ability to control the clock and to make them beat the Seawolves with a high-octane offensive approach.
“They play time-possession offense and have great ball control in the run game,” Moore said. “We knew the more possessions that were in this game, the better off we would be.”
BB&N started with possession in the second half but the Seawolves quickly forced a fumble to take over in the red zone. Lucas Fickeisen took the first rush to the one-yard line and Bourque finished it off with a one-yard run.
The Knights responded with a Taylor touchdown after a lengthy drive and once again trailed by just seven points. On the next drive, Bourque connected with Fickeisen on a 60-yard third down pass and then fired off his fifth and final touchdown run one play later.
BB&N looked to get back into contention, but an interception from Jayden Walters and a rushing touchdown from Anthony Giantommaso closed the door on the season.
“It feels awesome to get an undefeated season,” Bourque said. “That’s what we have been talking about in practice all year. We worked for this.”
Gooden said the victory felt extra sweet as the Knights were the Seawolves one blemish in the 2024 season.
“Last year we lost one game and it was to BB&N,” Gooden said. “It was great to come back this year, beat them twice, and finish undefeated.”
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