It was "a bitter pill to swallow," in the words of Wareham Coach Dan Nault.  A disastrous combination of fumbles and penalties thwarted the Vikings the entire game and allowed the Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School Bears to outscore Wareham 28-20 and garner only their third victory over the Vikings in 21 games.

Greater New Bedford jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter.  After taking the opening kickoff, the Bears marched down the field to make the score 7-0.  On the ensuing kickoff, they recovered a Wareham fumble and ran it in for a touchdown.

Once Wareham held onto the next Bears' kickoff, the Vikings showed that they could also score, with Matt Pimental running into the end zone after grabbing an Ian Searles pass to make it 14-6.  But the GNB Bears came right back on a 6-yard run by Justin Barnes to push their lead to 21-6 at the half.

Wareham came out in the second half determined to run the ball at GNB, and they did so with great success.  With the offensive line dominating their defensive counterparts, every Wareham running back made impressive gains.  Charles Tranfaglia scored on a 6-yard run and Matt Pimental scored on a 55-yard run to bring the Vikings close at 21-20.

But GNB running back Tristen Clark, who had been hemmed in by Wareham most of the game, broke away on a 63-yard run for GNB's final score, pushing the lead to 28-20 with 2:32 to go in the game.  When Wareham got the ball, they appeared to be driving to a score after converting a 4th-and-7 into a first down.  But they were called for a holding penalty, which negated the first down and pushed them back 10 yards.  A long pass on 4th-and-17 slipped through the fingers of two Wareham receivers, ending the drive.

But Wareham held GNB on the next possession and got the ball back one last time with 32 seconds remaining.   But after three plays, time ran out, and the Bears jubilantly celebrated their rare victory over the Vikings.

Coach Nault told his team afterward that they still control their fate, but they must win all their remaining league games.  "Our younger players are doing their jobs", Nault said, but added: "Its our seniors who are making mistakes at critical times - for them the season hangs in the balance".

The loss dropped Wareham's record to 1-3 overall, and 1-2 in South Coast Conference play.  The Vikings next face a tough Somerset team in Wareham on Saturday, October 9 at 10 a.m.