Rams stop Gardner, await Auburn

At times the rain was extremely heavy

By Steev Riccardo. Patriot staff photos (more follow)

DUDLEY – The 4-0 Shepherd Hill Rams are looking pretty good these days and if you think they haven’t passed enough tests yet, Friday night they have a chance to ace their biggest test yet with a highly anticipated game against the Auburn Rockets.

The Rams used their vintage running attack and outstanding defense to blank the Gardner Wildcats 20-0 on Saturday in a game that was played mostly in the rain, at times heavy.

Senior co-captain Brad Picard broke free for a 53-yard run to give the Rams a 6-0 lead in the second quarter that they took into the half without allowing the Wildcats to advance past the 50-yard line.
Kyle Amico ran in from a yard out and Picard added a two-point conversion to extend the lead to 14-0 after three quarters.

Rams senior captain Alex Sinni scored on a five-yard run to close out the scoring and secure the win over a team they lost to 20-6 a year ago. 

The 4-0 Rams will travel to Auburn next Friday night for a rematch of their epic battle of a year ago in which the Rams snapped the 4-0 Rockets’ long-winning streak with a 32-22 win in front of a capacity crowd in Dudley.

With two powerful, undefeated, and highly regarded Central Mass teams meeting, this contest has the makings of a real beauty.

Shepherd Hill head coach Chris Lindstrom was dressed appropriately for the occasion 

Drew Ravenelle (#11) follows his offensive line

Read more about the Shepherd Hill Rams and high school football in the View From The Sidelines column published every week in the Patriot and contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with feedback and comments.