The Wareham Vikings football team will have to wait until next year to get a shot at a Cranberry Bowl victory after losing to Old Rochester Regional High School on Friday night 21-12.

The annual game pits the neighboring towns against each other, and the winner takes home the Cranberry Trophy.

The Vikings, now 1-5 overall, and 1-4 in the South Coast Conference, found themselves yards away from a tie game and a potential shot at overtime as Coach Dan Nault opted for a two-point conversion play with less than five minutes to go.

If completed, the game would have been 14-14, however, the Bulldogs defense overwhelmed the Vikings on that pivotal play.

An attempted two-point conversion earlier in the game by the Vikings was also stopped.

“You came within a few feet of playing in overtime, and [the Bulldogs] knew it too,” Nault told his players after the game.

Despite the final score, the game was a close, hard fought affair until the Bulldogs scored the final touchdown with less than two minutes on the clock.

The Vikings were slowed down in part by inexperience. Of the 33 players, only nine are seniors.

“I’ve got a really young team, and they’re only getting better,” Nault said.

Bulldogs Coach Henry Quinlan took notice of Wareham’s improvement. In the past couple of years, the Bulldogs easily beat the Vikings in the Cranberry Bowl.

“It was a hard-fought game and Wareham gave us everything we could handle,” Quinlan said. “Wareham has turned a corner.”

Junior and fullback Nick Elicier scored the Vikings’ second touchdown while tight end Austin Stahmer put the team on the scoreboard in the second quarter with the initial touchdown.

The Vikings’ previous game was a 20-8 loss to Fairhaven. Before taking on the Bulldogs, Nault said his players were looking forward to facing their rivals. The Bulldogs had lost two straight games before Friday’s contest.

Fans turned out to support the Vikings. The team faced an ORR squad that was pumped following a pep rally and a homecoming celebration held earlier in the day.

“This rivalry has been deep for years,” said Matt Pearle. “It’s like when the Pats face the Jets.”

Pearle attended the game with his daughter who was there to support her boyfriend, junior and running back Josh Onujiogu.

As the number sixth ranked running back in the South Coast, Onujiogu helped to keep the Vikings in the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to take this year’s Cranberry Bowl.

The Vikings’ next game is Friday, Oct. 24 against Apponequet. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Griffith Field at Apponequet High School.