For the second week in a row, the Somerville football team rallied from a 20-0 deficit Friday night — only to fall painfully short in its comeback bid.
The most recent instance came September 27 against Greater Boston League rival Cambridge, a 28-26 loss at Dilboy Stadium. The previous week, the Highlanders (0-3) lost to Peabody 34-27 after mounting a comeback from a 20-0 deficit.
The Cambridge game started eerily similar for Somerville as the Falcons jumped to a 20-0 lead early in the third quarter. Somerville rallied back with quarterback Phoenix Huertas leading the way. He passed for two touchdowns in the final quarter, evening the score at 20-20 at the end of regulation.
Somerville opened the overtime with another touchdown. This time, Huertas scored on a rush from two yards out. After Huertas’ 2-point conversion attempted pass fell incomplete, Cambridge was granted an opportunity to score from the 20-yard line. Cambridge tailback Shaquille Anderson rushed for his second touchdown, and Sebastian Robert capped the win with a 2-point conversion run.
On the evening, Anderson lifted Cambridge (2-2) with 122 yards on 25 carries. For Somerville, Kevin Raymond scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. Huertas completed touchdown passes to Jonathan Santana (5-yard pass) and James Marin (15-yard pass).
Somerville will look to pick up its first win Friday when it hosts Malden (2-1). Malden is riding a two-game winning streak after outscoring its last two opponents — Malden Catholic and Revere — by a combined score of 56-6.