FOCUS ON FOOTBALL: What The What? Marlboro Shamrocks’ 60-Year-Old Patrick Caruso Denied Chance At ‘Kick Of A Lifetime’

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There are so many different directions this post could take, but if you, the reader, can just stick with the rolling words a little longer, I think maybe it will be worth your while.

I’ve got a story for you.

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A catch-all place for the sights
and sounds, impressions and overheard
things from our colorful
world of football

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Chance, legacy and sportsmanship make up just some of the pieces, and it’s also about how the dice rolled and fell off the table into oblivion.

Theatrically speaking, it’s a tragedy. And we can add some poetic license and fast-forward all the way to the last scene of this movie, so to speak, without spoiling it:

Mr. Patrick Caruso of the Marlboro Shamrocks, who I met for the first time nearly 50 years ago in junior high days, walks off the field, head held high with the ball cradled in his arm. The crowds and noise in the background begin to fade as he heads toward the exit gate under the bright stadium lights.

There is a blur as the adult Caruso transforms on the screen into the Marlboro Junior High Trojans version of himself, then a blink of an eye later, the image turns to the Assabet Valley Regional Vocational High School (Class of 1980) Caruso, and then in succession to the young Marlboro Shamrocks kicker in the 1980s and back again to the 60-year-old who just played in yet another championship football game with and against kids one-third his age — a feat that has earned him legendary status in Marlboro, a city of 40,000 residents 30 miles west of Boston.

Into the darkness, Caruso walks out the door. A winner.

A winner?

For sure, but not on this night, Saturday, Oct. 8, in a game that could possibly be his last in a career that began circa 1974.

The Shamrocks, who had national championship seasons in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002 without Caruso on the roster and in 2020 and 2022 with him, lost in the East Coast Football League title game, 26-23 in overtime, to the Southern New England Admirals.

Trailing 20-0, Marlboro fought back to tie it 20-all and Caruso came on to the field to attempt what could have been the winning extra point with 27 seconds remaining.

Instead, he was pulled for the team’s other kicker, Max Pedinoff, who wound up missing the attempt.

Caruso was sure to tell me on Facebook today that it was not an instance where coach Chris Chambers didn’t trust him.

But, man, that is some mean wind that blew those dice right off the table.

Here’s how Pat explained it: “When we scored, we got an excessive celebration penalty. Coach thought it was a 15-yard penalty so he sent Max (the longer distance place-kicker) in. By the time he realized it was only marked off 5 yards, things got confusing so he just kept him in. I had no problem with it. Just wanted to win. Max was not really ready because of confusion. But Max did hit a 43-yard field goal to go ahead in OT. It was a total team loss. Must admit coming back from down 20 to lose has been the toughest loss I’ve had.”

That’s good-sport Pat for you.

But not everyone was as carefree about what happened.

His girlfriend, Deb Harper, wrote on Facebook:  “Last night, this guy (Pat) took a hit … to the heart. Patrick was on the field, preparing for the final kick of his career with the Shamrocks. The crowd was cheering, ‘We love you Caruso!’ I was holding my breath. This was the point that would bring the team to its third national championship (game). Then the coach pulls him. The crowd paused. You can hear several fans yelling, ‘What the (expletive) are they doing?’ The crowd went silent as they watched the ball fade to the left and the refs giving the signal of a failed point. My body felt numb, and my heart broke for Patrick. We all knew that if he had kicked that ball, it would have sailed through the uprights and it would have been the kick of his lifetime. He was robbed of that experience. And he took it like the sportsman that he is. He sees the team and doesn’t focus on just himself. He deserved so much more.”

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ALSO at BedrockSportsHawaii.com:

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