RallyNorth.net

Newburyport trips up North Reading

Friday, September, 16 By Dan Guttenplan
Staff writer

NEWBURYPORT — North Reading coach Jeff Wall brought his team to Newburyport last evening with a mission of shutting down wide receiver Brett Fontaine.

Wall’s defense limited Fontaine to two catches, but the receiver picked up 78 yards on three sweeps in a 28-6 Newburyport victory.

Fontaine had 10 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown in Newburyport’s opening victory over Lynnfield.

“We had him doubled up all game,” Wall said. “We thought we had him contained, and then he’d rip off a 25-yard run on third-and-15.”

Newburyport junior quarterback Connor Wile connected on 6 of 8 passes for 115 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a 2-yard score to make it 28-0 in the third quarter.

“We wanted to make it tough for them to run internally — make them throw,” Wall said. “We had decent coverage on some kids, but their quarterback is solid and their receivers are good. They just made plays. That’s a good team over there.”

Newburyport bottled up North Reading junior tailback Carl Lipani, holding him to 52 yards on 18 carries until the game’s final 3:46. Lipani did add 61 yards and a touchdown on the final drive to post his second straight 100-yard game.

“We concentrated on defense,” Newburyport coach Ed Gaudiano said. “We knew what style they would try to play. We played with an extra lineman up front. It freed up guys like James Hundertmark, Sam Francis and Jared Bradbury to get in on a lot of tackles.”

“(Bradbury) was the key,” Wall said. “They obviously had a game plan to stuff the middle of us. (Bradbury) was difficult to handle coming off the edge. He played very well.”

North Reading defensive back Jackson Kellogg intercepted a pass.

Newburyport 28, North Reading 7
at World War Memorial Stadium
North Reading    0    0    0    7    —    7
Newburyport    7    14    7    0    —    28
Scoring summary
First quarter
N — Colton Fontaine 7-yard pass from Connor Wile (Brandon Trego kick), 3:07
Second quarter
N — Jimmy Conway 40-yard pass from Wile (Trego kick), 8:16
N — Tyler Martin 3-yard run (Trego kick), 2:58
Third quarter
N — Wile 2-yard run (Trego kick), 8:18
Fourth quarter
NR — Carl Lipani 10-yard run (Eric Valenti kick), 0:35
Individual statistics
Rushing: NR — Lipani 23-113-1; Charles McCarthy 4-18; Shane Brosseau 1-2; Jackson Kellogg 4-(6); N — Brett Fontaine 3-78; Tyler Martin 14-40-1; Tyler Cusack 3-8; Wile 9-(4)-1.
Passing: NR — Kellogg 0-1-0-0-0; N — Wile 6-8-113-2-1.
Receiving: N — B. Fontaine 2-58; Conway 1-40-1; C. Fontaine 2-14-1; James Hundertmark 1-1.