| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newburyport | 0 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
| Pentucket | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
Saturday, November, 05
By David Willis
Staff writer
WEST NEWBURY — It was an unfortunate case of deja vu for Pentucket.
For the second straight season, the Sachems led Newburyport by two scores midway through the third quarter, and for the second straight season the Clippers stormed back to take the lead.
Pentucket rallied to set up a late field goal, but it was blocked and Pentucket fell to Newburyport 20-19 yesterday.
“This one hurt,” said Sachem coach Steve Hayden. “The kids are hurting. They played their hearts out. But we made too many mistakes.
The Sachems had dominated the series against Newburyport prior to the last two seasons, having won 10 of 11 meetings dating back to the 1999 Super Bowl season.
“It’s always so hard to come over here,” said Newburyport coach Ed Gaudiano. “This was ugly, as always. But we picked it up in the second half.”
It looked early as if Pentucket would run away with the game, taking a 19-0 lead in the first quarter.
Nolan Dragon opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown 3:16 into the game. Then, on consecutive Newburyport possessions, QB Connor Wile was intercepted by Sachem defensive back Cody Rothwell, the first setting up a 51-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Kuchar to rugged tight end Tim Freiermuth.
A possession later, Freiermuth charged through to block a punt, and Rothwell scooped it up and ran in from 2-yards to increase the lead to 19 points.
“Pentucket really took it to us for a lot of the game,” said Gaudiano. “I told the kids we were playing very slow. They held the ball most of the first half. But we started playing faster.”
Newburyport rallied for one touchdown midway through the second quarter, and grabbed the lead with two third quarter scores.
Pentucket did manage a late surge, driving to the Newburyport 5-yard line with 2:23 to play. But a third-down pass fell incomplete and a field goal attempt was blocked by Newburyport’s Trevor Pituck.
“They were more physical in the second half and took advantage of our mistakes,” said Hayden. “We did some nice things in the first half, but we hurt ourselves in the second half.”
Freiermuth was immense, making eight tackles and a pair of sacks. Sean Brennan paced the Sachems with 11 tackles, while Nolan Dragon added seven stops. Kuchar threw for a game-high 169 yards.
First Quarter
P — Nolan Dragon 2 run (Tyler Kelly kick), 6:44
P — Tim Freiermuth 51 pass from Ryan Kuchar (kick failed), 5:52
P — Cody Rothwell 2 punt block return (pass failed), 0:13
Second Quarter
N — Brett Fontaine 25 pass from Connor Wile (kick failed), 4:35
Third Quarter
N — Tyler Martin 6 run (Brandon Trego kick), 6:33
N — Fontaine 30 pass from Wile (Trego kick),2:28
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: P (33-107) — Nolan Dragon 18-58, Sean Brennan 5-42, Cody Rothwell 2-3, Nick D'Agostino 4-4, Ryan Kuchar 4-0; N (31-111) —Tyler Martin 22-108, Connor Wile 9-3
PASSING: P — Kuchar 6-10-1, 169; N —Wile 14-22-2, 160
RECEIVING: P — Nick D'Agostino 2-71, Tim Freiermuth 1-51, Rothwell 1-28, Jon Simard 2-19; N — Brett Fontaine 8-127, Ian Michaels 2-15, Colton Fontaine 1-10, Martin 1-8, Jared Bradbury 1-2, James Conway 1-(-2)
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