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Methuen Rangers Football '18

Methuen, Dracut

 

METHUEN — As the wind chill dipped under 20 degrees Wednesday night, the Methuen High fans were bundled and cold at Nicholson Stadium, and many of his teammates were shivering on the sideline.

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Football, 11/21/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Bryant (3 TDs) dazzles as Methuen tops talented Reading

READING - As the rain fell harder and harder Friday night, Connor Bryant only got stronger and stronger.

Methuen's senior quarterback was the offense for the Rangers in the tough non-league matchup with stalwart Reading - the 2016 Division 1A Super Bowl runner-up.

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Football, 11/09/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Methuen beats Lexington

METHUEN, Mass. - With under two minutes remaining in Methuen's home battle with Lexington football, the Rangers' defense faced a decisive 4th-and-10 with the Minutemen standing at the Methuen 27-yard line. The Lexington defense had come up with the game's first turnover - a Ben Burnham interception with just under 4 minutes to play - and now the Minutemen offense looked to take the late lead in a game in which they had trailed nearly the whole time. Instead, Methuen's defense held firm, forcing two straight incompletions to deliver the Rangers the win, 21-16.

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Football, 11/02/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

After hot start, second half struggles doom Methuen

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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Football, 10/26/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Methuen, Lawrence

 

LAWRENCE — Methuen had two main goals against Lawrence Friday night.

The Rangers wanted a nice bounce-back win after losing to Central Catholic and they wanted to establish its running attack.

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Football, 10/19/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Central keeps it rolling with dominant win over Methuen

METHUEN - Right from the opening kickoff, you could tell Central Catholic was locked in.

Maybe it was because junior quarterback Jared Silverio is from Methuen, and he desperately wanted to beat his buddies from back home. Or maybe it was because first place in the MVC Large was on the line.

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Football, 10/12/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Bryant, Correa TD with 40 seconds left gives Methuen dramatic win

 ANDOVER — With the clock ticking under a minute to play in the game and Methuen trailing by three, Rangers QB Connor Bryant dropped back and saw Wesley Correa flying down the field.
 
“Wesley is one of my favorite guys to throw to,” said Bryant. “I knew when I threw it he was going to catch it and score. I just knew that’s how the game was going to end.”
 
Bryant lofted a perfect pass to Correa, who caught it at the 2-yard line and waltzed into the end zone to give Methuen its first lead of the game with 40 seconds left in regulation.
A last-second Andover pass fell short and the Rangers earned a thrilling 20-14 comeback victory over the Golden Warriors Friday night.
“This feels amazing,” said Correa. “As soon as I scored I thought we won the game. This was the first touchdown of my varsity career, and it meant the world to me to do it for the team. To beat Andover like this is crazy.”
With the game on the line with 0:53 left, Correa knew the ball was coming his way when the play was called.
“I knew I was getting the ball,” said Correa. “I was excited. I just stayed focused and kept my eyes on the ball. I had to catch it. Connor made a perfect throw over the safety and cornerback and right into my hands.”
Once Bryant saw Correa open, he knew what to do.
“I looked right to Wesley and saw him break off that post,” said Bryant. “I threw it right over the safety and I knew it was going to be a touchdown. I saw the clock was at 40 seconds and I knew we were going to win the game.”
Methuen still needed one more stop, and Anthony Romano and Aaron Searth delivered, crashing through the line to sack Andover QB Victor Harrington.
The Golden Warriors had one last pass, but a short completion was brought down by a group of Rangers as the clock expired.
“I knew our defense would give us the last stop,” said Bryant. “I knew they would end it and win the game .”
It didn’t look early like Methuen would end the game in celebration.
Andover led 14-0 at halftime thanks to a Tommy Duncan 15-yard TD run and a Harrington 59-yard touchdown pass to Brendon Moody. 
The Golden Warrior defense was also flexing some muscle. Duncan intercepted three passes in the first half, and Kelvin Davila added another pick.
“We had a tough first half,” said Bryant. “Too many mental mistakes. But at halftime we cleaned a lot of them up.”
Methuen finally broke through with 4:01 left in the third, as Bryant found Caleb Adams for a score.
Andover answered with a Shamus Florio field goal, but the Rangers struck right back on the first play of their next drive when Bryant hit Kareem Coleman for a 78-yard score.
With time running out, Andover drove to the Methuen 36 and seemed poised to run out the clock.
But the ball was knocked out and Ranger Liam Gilmore recovered a fumble with 2:07 left. Eight plays later, Bryant found Correa to ice the dramatic finish.
“This means everything,” said Correa. “This is a huge win. We’re 4-1 now, and we want to keep it going.”
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Football, 10/05/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Bigger than football: Methuen's last-minute TD clinches thriller over grieving Haverhill

METHUEN - As Nicholson Stadium's clock read :01, everyone on the Haverhill sideline looked up to the heavens searching for their guardian angel one more time.

The ball was spotted at the Methuen 20-yard-line. Trailing 28-24, the Hillies needed a touchdown.

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Football, 09/28/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Methuen outlasts Lowell

LOWELL — After watching their own 14-point lead evaporate into the fall air thanks to a four-score second quarter by host Lowell, the Methuen Rangers were on the verge of retaking the lead in the game’s dying seconds when they got set at the Lowell 33-yard line. It seemed as if their own two touchdown comeback had been made complete when Caleb Adames scampered into the end zone after a 30-yard strike from quarterback Connor Bryant, but the play was called back for offensive holding. However, the Rangers kept their cool, converting on third-and-inches.

Two plays later Bryant quickly ditched a shovel pass to his running back, Ricky Brutus, seconds before three Red Raiders swallowed the QB up. Brutus caught the short pitch and ran toward the far corner of the end zone, crossing the pile-on with just 14 seconds remaining in Methuen’s 35-28 win at Lowell.

“We have a theme of the week every week, and this week…it was to be a finisher, and we finished this game,” said Methuen head coach Tom Ryan.

“In the fourth quarter we rallied and we finished.”

The Rangers (3-1) looked set to pull away early after a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, one of which came on a 55-yard run from Brutus. However, the Red Raiders (0-3) erased the deficit and went up by two scores themselves, thanks to a pair of pick-sixes in the second quarter that sandwiched two offensive touchdown.

Despite the turnover issues, Bryant remained poised, delivering a 67-yard rocket off of a flea flicker to halve the deficit. His squad overcame it entirely early in the fourth quarter thanks to Brutus’s second of three touchdowns and a successful two-point conversion. And when Lowell again knocked on the door of the end zone, the Ranger defense held strong, turning a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line into a turnover on downs with two key sacks. That put the ball back in Bryant’s hands with 3:04 left, and set the stage for Methuen’s theatrics.

“It was just a broken play and our quarterback and our running back made a phenomenal play,” Coach Ryan said.

“We wanted him to run out of bounds and he cuts back inside and gets the touchdown. Amazing play by Ricky Brutus.”

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Football, 09/21/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Brutus scores 5 TDs in debut, Methuen rolls past Malden Catholic

MALDEN — For years, Ricky Brutus had visualized his first Methuen varsity start.
 
His wildest dreams, however, could never have matched reality on Friday.
 
“I never imagined it would be like this,” said Brutus. “It was crazy. What an amazing experience!”
 
Brutus scored five touchdowns — four rushing scored and a punt return TD — as Methuen opened its season by crushing Malden Catholic 41-16.
 
“We’ve been waiting for this game and it felt so good,” said new Rangers QB Connor Bryant. “We know we lost a lot of stars from last year. We wanted to go out and show our town, school and friends that Methuen football isn’t dead. It was a great first victory.”
The star of the day was Brutus, who finished with 102 rushing yards on 10 carries in just over a half of play.
He took his first carry for 25 yards, and on his third rush he shook a tackler and scored a 7-yard touchdown.
“Amazing feeling,” said Brutus. “It felt like a kiss from my mother right on the cheek.”
From there the junior — who entered the game with three career carries for 11 yards — continued to pour it on.
On the Rangers’ next drive he scored a 16-yard touchdown, and followed that a possession later with a 14-yard TD.
Then, with 23 seconds left in the first half, he took a punt, juked nearly the entire Malden Catholic defense and broke free for a 70-yard touchdown.
“I didn’t think I could get to the ball on the punt,” said Brutus, who added a 6-yard TD in the third. “But I got my hands on it, saw some space and just went for it. It was awesome.”
The monster debut for Brutus — who wears No. 7 for his idol, recently-graduated Methuen star Peter Kwakye — wasn’t a shocker to his teammates.
“We knew that Ricky was special,” said Bryant, who added 64 yards and a touchdown rushing. “I’ve been playing with him for a few years, and it’s really impressive what kind of player and athlete he is. He had some great games on JV last year.”
When Brutus wasn’t running wild, the defense was frustrating the Malden Catholic offense. 
The Lancers managed just 47 yards of offense in the first half and 147 for the game. Both of their touchdowns came long after the Ranger starters had left the game.
Jamie Blaisdell recorded a pair of sacks for Methuen, delivering a monster hit on Malden QB Will Ragucci. Anthony Romano added six tackles and Noah Antoon chipped in with a sack.
The Rangers now hope to keep the momentum going heading into their Merrimack Valley Conference opener on Friday, when they host Tewksbury.
“The win feels great,” said Brutus. “We wanted to prove it to ourselves out there. We wanted to show that Methuen football isn’t dead.”
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Football, 09/07/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars