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WEST NEWBURY — When Pentucket and Triton faced off early in the season, the Sachems won a defensive battle 13-10. But the Thanksgiving Day matchup was an entirely different story. The Cape Ann League rivals combined for 75 points in a game that was all but decided by halftime as Pentucket emerged with the 47-28 victory. The Vikings (4-7) came out of the gate strong, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, but it was Pentucket's Liam Sheehy who stole the show in front of his home crowd. The junior running back rushed for 191 yards on the day highlighted by three first-half scores. "He's a tough runner and he works very hard," Sachems' 34th-year head coach Steve Hayden said after his 207th career win. "He's probably one of the hardest workers in practice and he just loves the game. All our kids played well and played tough." The hosts (10-1) won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, which gave Triton the first chance to get on the scoreboard. The Vikings did just that, putting together a nine-play, 80-yard drive, capped off by a Liam Spillane plunge from 4 yards out to give Triton its first and only lead of the game. After its opening score, however, Triton surrendered five consecutive touchdowns. "I don't think we fought in the first half," said Vikings coach Pat Sheehan. "We had some things going offensively but we didn't make enough of the plays we needed to make and defensively we didn't fight." Senior co-captain Kiernan Haley broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of Pentucket's opening possession. Sheehy followed that up with a 58-yard touchdown scamper of his own, before quarterback Finn Graham found Haley for a 24-yard scoring strike. Sheehy added scores from 1- and 2-yards out, respectively, to put the Sachems up 34-14 at the break. Pentucket continued it's torrid scoring pace at the start of the third quarter, as senior running back Brennan McGuirk sprinted 52 yards into the end zone. The Sachems then finished their scoring when Graham tossed his second touchdown of the day, this time to senior Travis Bounsy from 6 yards out to make it 47-14 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

NORTH READING — Matt McCarthy rushed for two second half touchdowns to help North Reading come back to beat Triton 14-7 on Friday night, scoring the game-winner with less than two minutes to play.

WEST NEWBURY — Though his team made him sweat it out towards the end, Pentucket coach Steve Hayden made history with his 200th win Saturday.
Pentucket held on to beat archrival Triton 13-10, overcoming two fourth quarter fumbles to deny Triton the opportunity of a last gasp scoring drive. Senior defensive end Noah Malhi came up huge on the last defensive possession, sacking Triton quarterback Lewi L'Heureux and then hurrying him twice more in quick succession to force the decisive turnover on downs and ensure the historic victory.
"We were thinking about it the whole game," Malhi said of the 200-win milestone after the game. "Before the game we just talked about how we have to win this one for coach Hayden, and it would be the best to win it against Triton."
The win upped the 34th-year head coach's record at the school to 200-152-2. Hayden is the 49th coach in state history to reach 200 wins.
Hayden, for his part, downplayed the accomplishment, saying it would mean nothing if nobody had said anything. He added that the credit really belongs to the players and coaches who have been a part of the program over the years.
"Its an accomplishment for all the kids we've had, from the kids that went 1-9 to the kids that won Super Bowls," Hayden said. "All those kids, all those former coaches, all those ADs, it's a village that got us here."
Tom Flaherty, Hayden's predecessor and a member of the Mass High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, said he couldn't be happier for him.
"It's a very big deal, and it's such a credit to Steve," Flaherty said. "He's the perfect coach, he works very hard and he loves the kids, and they know it."
Pentucket led the game from wire to wire, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 25-yard touchdown run by senior Kiernan Haley. Triton made it 7-3 before halftime on a 26-yard field goal kicker Jess Greaney, but on the first drive of the third quarter, the Sachems drove 57 yards in nine plays to extend their lead, capping things off with a 19-yard touchdown run by junior Liam Sheehy.
Things nearly unraveled in the fourth, however, as Pentucket lost two fumbles on consecutive possessions. The second resulted in a 21-yard touchdown pass from L'Heureux to junior Liam Spillane to make it 13-10, and after a three-and-out by the Pentucket offense, Triton had an opportunity to take the lead before Malhi and the defense got the big stop.
Pentucket improves to 3-0 and hosts Newburyport next Saturday at 2 p.m.