ACTON — For a half, it appeared Methuen had a playoff upset nearly in its grasp.
The Rangers led by 14 points after two quarters of their state tournament opener against Acton-Boxboro, and were red hot on both sides of the ball.
That, however, would be as good as it would be for Methuen.
No. 3 Acton-Boxboro (8-0) stormed back with touchdowns on four straight possessions after the break, and the No. 6 Rangers (5-3) could not recover, falling to the Colonials 28-21 in the Division 1 North first round.
Acton-Boxboro advances to face No. 2 St. John’s Prep in the Division 1 North semifinals, while Methuen goes into the non-playoff bracket.
“We really hurt ourselves in the second half with miss-execution and penalties,” said Methuen coach Tom Ryan. “Our kids played hard, but A-B is 8-0 for a reason. This hurts, but we are going to regroup.”
The Rangers seemed to be in control after a dominant second quarter.
Methuen QB Connor Bryant closed out the first with a 64-yard bomb to Wes Correa to the Acton-Boxboro 1-yard line. Bryant then took a keeper in on the first play of the second to make it 7-0.
After a 3-and-out, Bryant completed a 42-yard strike to Tom Theriault, setting himself a 5-yard TD run by the QB.
The Colonials scored on their next possession, but Methuen came right back and Bryant ran in a 3-yard score to make it 21-7 in the half.
Bryant, a junior, delivered a career first half. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 181 yards and ran for 60 yards and the three scores.
The Ranger defense was also rolling, allowing just 67 yards at the break. Anthony Romano, Theriault and Jonathan Ouellet each had a sack before halftime.
In the second half, however, it was all Acton-Boxboro.
On their first offensive play of the third, Colonials QB Finn Murray threw a 45-yard touchdown to Vic Otero. On their third play of the quarter, Murray threw a 35-yard score to Stan Bernard.
Acton-Boxboro took the lead with 8:30 left in the game on a Murray 18-yard TD pass.
“I think we got a little run down in the second half,” said Ryan. “Then they hit us over the top with a few big plays. And when we had certain plays we shot ourselves in the foot with penalty.”
The Ranger offense could not duplicate their first half. Bryant ran for 77 yards in the second half, but they turned the ball over on downs on three possessions. Their best chance came in the fourth, marching to the Acton-Boxboro 25-yard line with just under five minutes left. But a pass on fourth down fell incomplete.
Methuen now moves into the non-playoff bracket, and will find out their next opponent on Sunday.
“Now we have to remember what we are playing for,” said Ryan. “We all want to win a championship, but we want to keep playing for our teammates and the city of Methuen. We will come back strong.”
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