RallyNorth.net

WEST NEWBURY — Something had to give.

Throughout the first half yesterday, Pentucket and North Andover were throwing waves of defense at each other. Packing in the area between the tackles, the two run-oriented teams struggled to gain 144 combined yards in the opening 22 minutes. Only a fumble recovered by North Andover's Dylan Lurvey at the Sachem 20-yard line could set up the lone score of the half.

WEST NEWBURY — Something had to give.

Throughout the first half yesterday, Pentucket and North Andover were throwing waves of defense at each other. Packing in the area between the tackles, the two run-oriented teams struggled to gain 144 combined yards in the opening 22 minutes. Only a fumble recovered by North Andover's Dylan Lurvey at the Sachem 20-yard line could set up the lone score of the half.

WOBURN — North Andover was knocked out of the state boys soccer tournament last night, but Scarlet Knights coach Bill Tarbox wasn't quite ready to believe his team's season was over.

Seeded third in the Division 2 North bracket, North Andover dropped a 1-0 decision to second-seeded Wilmington in semifinal action at Woburn High School. But Tarbox thought it was his squad which should have advanced to Monday's title game against top-seeded Concord-Carlisle, which defeated Danvers 2-0.

 NORTH ANDOVER  —  Frannie McFall got North Andover started with seven straight service points and the Knights never looked back in a surprising sweep (25-12, 26-24, 25-15) of a solid Billerica club in te Division 1 North quarterfinals.

NORTH ANDOVER — He’s only a freshman, but Evan Dudney is making his presence felt for the North Andover boys soccer team. Yesterday, in fact, it was felt in a big way as he came off the bench to score North Andover’s  first two goals, fueling the No. 3 seed Knights to a 3-1 victory over Triton in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament. North Andover (16-1-2) advances to tomorrow’s 2 p.m. quarterfinals at home against Reading, a 4-2 winner over Tewksbury yesterday. “He (Evan Dudney) is a guy who I bring in as the third forward and he has really come on,” said North Andover coach Bill Tarbox . “He has that goal scoring aptitude — he scored our only goal against Rockport.” Dudney scored the game’s first goal after 30 minutes in the first half, from about 18 yards out, on an assist from classmate Dennis Graff, who is the only other freshman on the varsity roster, but Triton tied it up shortly thereafter on a Justin Paquette goal to make it 1-1 at halftime. Then, at the 22:12 mark of the second half, older brother Gareth Dudney fired a long direct kick to the left side of the goal to Jay Marchand, who directed it over to the right side. Evan took the ball in mid-air and kicked it in for the game-winner. “He (Evan) seems to be in the right place at the right time — he’s a hard-nosed player. He has a long way to go to develop the skills of Gareth, but he’s only a freshman and he has plenty of time.” North Andover controlled much of the field possession, particularly in the second half, and it seemed like just a matter of time before it scored. Following Dudney’s second score, Jay Marchand scored an insurance goal six minutes later when brother Ross Marchand sent a long pass down the field. With Jay ahead of the defenders, Triton goalie Dan Norton came out to try and get to the ball first. But Jay Marchand beat him and sent a crossing shot into the net from about 20 yards out. “This was an important win for us because we got eliminated (from the tournament) in the first game last year,” said Tarbox. “It’s important for the seniors and also for our younger kids to get a taste of what it takes.”

No. 11 North Andover was held to just three shots in a 2-0 loss to No. 6 Lincoln-Sudbury in the first round of the Division 1 North girls tournament.

"We knew they were coming from a strong league with a good record and they bascially outmuscled us," North Andover coach Kevin McCarthy said. "They had good size and won a lot of balls in the air. They controlled the middle of the field against us. We had a hard time cracking the middle of the field." North Andover fell behind 1-0 in the first 10 minutes of the first and 2-0 in the first 7 minutes of the second half. 

No. 4 North Andover outshot No. 12 Brookline 29-6 on its way to a 4-1 quarterfinal victory in the Division 1 North playoffs. 

Meg Twomey and Michelle Martin each scored in the final five minutes of the first half to give the Scarlet Knights a 2-0 halftime lead. 

WILMINGTON — North Andover got its scoring from a familiar face, but it was an unlikely source that kept the Scarlet Knights conference-title hopes alive.

Playing on the road for only the third time this season, North Andover eked out a 14-12 victory over Cape Ann Conference rival Wilminton last night. Leading rusher Zac Iovanella scored both touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights (7-2 overall, 2-1 conference). Kicker Dylan Lurvey, however, was the difference maker, converting both conversions while consistently putting the Wildcats in bad field position with his booming punts.

NORTH ANDOVER — Quarterback Brandon Walsh gave North Andover the spark it needed midway through the third quarter but he did not do it with his right arm or legs.
He did it by alertly recovering a fumble on the North Reading 10 yard line after teammates Alex Blane and Kyle Kobierski stripped the ball from a Hornet running back.
“They just punched it out and it came right to me,” Walsh said. “I just fell on it. It was a big turning point. We then put in a big score right there. It kind of got us going.”
North Andover scored two plays later to build a two-touchdown lead, energizing the sluggish offense that had not posted any points since early in the first quarter.
The Scarlet Knights scored 21 second-half points to beat North Reading 28-0.
“On that fumble, they just came from the backside and just made a great play,” the Hornets’ Robert Rosano said. “I couldn’t find a hole and it was just stripped from me. We can’t make mistakes like I made on that fumble. We had to play a perfect game to beat them and we didn’t.”
North Andover failed to score after blocking a punt and recovering the football on the North Reading 25 in the first quarter.
“It doesn’t matter about those misses,” junior David Foote said. “We got it together.”
North Andover received a spark from fullback Jack Murphy, who ran for touchdowns of 45 and 39 yards. He finished with six carries for 92 yards.
The junior knew he needed to step up after struggling in the first half.
“I don’t feel like a played a very good first half defensively or offensively,” Murphy said. “I dropped an interception. I wasn’t getting off of blocks well and I blew a few tackles.”
But all that was soon forgotten.
“Any time he (Murphy) takes the weight off my shoulders, that’s fine,” said star tailback Zac Iovanella. “He hit the hole real hard and he showed us some speed I didn’t think he had.”

For the first time in eight years, North Andover has captured the CAL championship.

With last night's 1-0 win over Newburyport, the Knights dethroned traditional power, Masconomet, which has dominated the league for much of the past eight seasons. Gareth Dudney tallied the only goal of the game.