When the Duxbury Dragons started the season at 0-2, it was easy to make excuses that the team lost so many key players from the 2008 Super Bowl team that a rebuilding year was in the cards. Two months later the team is one win away from the playoffs, and the thought of consecutive Super Bowl appearances isn’t that far-fetched.

After coming from behind twice to beat Hingham, 28-20, on Saturday afternoon, Duxbury finds itself in the unlikely position of winning the Patriot League title on Friday night if it can beat Scituate in a winner-take-all affair at Raymond P. Chandler Field.

Hingham has been a thorn in the side of Coach Dave Maimaron since he took over the program, and it looked like they would be once again when senior running back Anthony Cappella took the opening kickoff 91 yards for a TD that gave the Harbormen a 6-0 lead.

The Dragons knew their options were limited if they wanted to defend their crown, so they wasted little time in answering back. Moving the ball out to the Hingham 48-yard line on five plays, Duxbury then unleashed its own offensive weapon, as senior captain Bobby Murphy broke through the line and down the left sideline, out-racing the Harbormen’s secondary to tie the game at 6-6. Junior Ben Startzell was automatic on the conversion and the Dragons were on top by a point.

While the game was expected to be a grind-it-out affair, it turned into a track meet quickly, as senior QB Jake Quinn faked a dive into the line and sprinted to his left, cutting inside the linebacker and racing 83 yards downfield for the go-ahead TD. Cappella took a pitch to his right on the two-point conversion and the hosts were back on top at 14-7 less than five minutes into the game.

The game finally settled down as neither team could do much the rest of the first quarter.

Duxbury started the second quarter back on its own 28-yard line, where junior QB Kane Haffey engineered a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ended in a tying score. Spotting tight end CJ Cote running through the middle of the Hingham secondary, Haffey threw his pass high and watched the 6’2” senior out-leap his defender in the back of the end zone for the score. Startzell’s PAT split the uprights and the game was tied at 14-14 with 3:09 left in the half.

Hingham’s special teams had killed the Dragons all afternoon, and they would wound the home team one more time when they returned the kickoff to the Duxbury 27.

Fortunately, the Dragon defense stiffened, forcing the Harbormen to settle for a 30-yard field goal with eight seconds to go in the half and a 17-14 lead.

A nice return by sophomore Henry Buonagurio brought the ball out to the 42-yard line to start the second half, giving Haffey excellent field position. After two non-descript plays went nowhere, Haffey dropped back to pass and lofted a bomb down the right sideline in the direction of Cote. The senior got his right hand on the ball as he tight-roped along the sideline, tipping it up in the air, and juggling it once again as it followed him down the sideline before it settling into his hands for a 37-yard reception.

After a 12-yard pass from Haffey to junior Matt Hallisey brought the ball down to the nine, Murphy ran it in from eight yards out for the go-ahead score. Startzell’s PAT proved to be the eventual game-winner, as Duxbury went ahead for good at 21-17 with 7:55 to go in the quarter.

The Dragons had no desire to give back the lead, and it showed in the play of Henry Buonagurio, who stopped Hingham on consecutive plays for no gain. Andrew Buron would take a cue from his classmate and stuff Quinn on a fourth down attempt, as Duxbury took over at midfield.

The offense couldn’t take advantage, but Startzell’s punt pinned the Harbormen deep at the 15-yard line. What the offense couldn’t do, the defense could.

On second down from the 13, junior QB Harry Rein threw a backwards pass to Quinn, who was setting up to reload. Quinn couldn’t hold on to the ball and fumbled, drawing a host of Duxbury defenders who pounced on the loose ball at the one-inch line. Two plays later JB Marston went up the middle for six points in his first game back after missing most of the season. Startzell’s extra point was good and Duxbury had what appeared to be a comfortable 28-17 lead.

Quinn took it upon himself to get his team back in the game and he did it quickly with runs of 15 and 29 yards that had the ball at the Duxbury 15. The defense was up for the challenge and held them to a 28-yard field goal by Quinn to cut the margin to 28-20 with 7:40 left in the game.

Maimaron called for a fake field goal attempt that failed on Duxbury’s next drive, giving Hingham the ball on the 36 with 4:27 left on the clock and a chance to tie. Two plays later junior Adam Martin stepped in front of a Quinn pass and picked it off, taking it down to the Hingham 22 where Adam Kramer recovered Martin’s fumble.

What appeared to be a perfect setup for Startzell to kick the game-clinching field goal, suddenly took a bizarre twist, as Haffey went back to pass on third down and was nailed for a 13-yard loss, resulting in a missed 37-yard field goal attempt.

Hingham had one last chance and couldn’t do a thing, turning the ball over on downs and allowing the Dragons to go for the league title on Friday night.