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North Andover Scarlet Knights Football '16

Fri, Sep 30, 2016 07:00 PM @ Lawrence
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
North Andover 0 0 14 8 22
Lawrence 0 13 0 0 13

Workhorse Watson rallies Knights to comeback win over Lawrence

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LAWRENCE — The first thing sophomore Darren Watson did after scoring all three North Andover touchdowns in a comeback 22-13 victory over Lawrence was give the obligatory thanks to his blocking.

“The offensive line really pushed them back and my fullback, Will Testa, had some great blocks,” said Watson.

But then Watson admitted that he was as fatigued as he’d ever been after a game.

“My legs are dead,” said Watson. “All I want to do now is ice my legs and watch film.”

Watson had a right to be tired because he carried the ball a whopping 42 times for 198 yards, carrying 24 times in the second half alone as the Knights rallied from a 13-0 halftime deficit with three straight touchdowns to even its record at 2-2.

“That’s a lot of carries, but I’ll quote my uncle, who was a football coach when he had a guy carry it 45 times,” said North Andover coach John Dubzinski. “The football’s not that heavy.

“We’re a run-oriented team and we wanted Darren to get the ball. He had a good game last week against Tewksbury and he keeps getting better.”

Watson had 94 yards in the first half, and North Andover controlled the ball for the most part, but the Knights were foiled by penalties, an interception and a lost fumble.

Lawrence, on the other hand, managed only one first down in the first two quarters, but a 59-yard bomb from Ronny Pena to Andre Wilson followed by a 59-yarder to Darryl Munoz put the Lancers up by two scores at intermission.

But the second half was all North Andover. Connor Walsh returned the opening kickoff 30 yards to the 48 and Watson then carried 11 times for 52 yards, scoring from the one.

The next two series, of 63 and 61 yards, was more of the same, capped off by Watson runs of 5 and 8 yards. He added a two-point conversion run after the final TD to account for the final score.

Complementing Watson in the second half was sophomore Joseph Allen, who carried five times for 72 yards.

The North Andover defense, meanwhile, was not to be denied, allowing just 11 rushing yards and two pass completions the last two quarters. Testa applied serious pressure on blitzes and had an interception while Patrick Quinn and Patrick Maloney led the rushing defense.

For Lawrence (0-4), Michael Maysonet was immense on defense before getting banged up and leaving the game in the second half and Kelvin Ynfante, Miguel Mercedes and Stanley Alberto were among those who made Watson work for every yard.

North Andover 22, Lawrence 13

North Andover (2-2): 0  0 14 8 — 22

Lawrence (0-4): 0 13  0 0 — 13

Second Quarter

L — Andre Wilson 64 pass from Ronny Pena (Musset Mezidor kick), 4:50

L — Darryl Munoz 59 pass from Pena (kick blocked), :44

Third Quarter

NA — Watson 1 run (Nicholas Marconi kick), 5:50

NA — Watson 5 run (Marconi kick), 1:15

Fourth Quarter

NA — Watson 8 run (Watson run), 5:36

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: NA (53-279) — Darren Watson 42-198, Joseph Allen 7-73, Will Testa 1-8, Jake McElroy 3-0; L (15-26) — Ronyel Pena 5-(-16), Angel Abreu 9-42, Dylan Montanez 1-0

PASSING: NA — McElroy 1-6-1, 24; L — Ronny Pena 6-17-1, 165

RECEIVING: NA — Watson 1-24; L — Ronyel Pena 2-24, Andre Wilson 3-82, Darryl Munoz 1-59

**************

Watson had a right to be tired because he carried the ball a whopping 42 times for 198 yards, carrying 24 times in the second half alone as the Knights rallied from a 13-0 halftime deficit.

Game Statistics:

North Andover 22, Lawrence 13

North Andover (2-2): 0  0 14 8 — 22

Lawrence (0-4): 0 13  0 0 — 13

Second Quarter

L — Andre Wilson 64 pass from Ronny Pena (Musset Mezidor kick), 4:50

L — Darryl Munoz 59 pass from Pena (kick blocked), :44

Third Quarter

NA — Watson 1 run (Nicholas Marconi kick), 5:50

NA — Watson 5 run (Marconi kick), 1:15

Fourth Quarter

NA — Watson 8 run (Watson run), 5:36

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: NA (53-279) — Darren Watson 42-198, Joseph Allen 7-73, Will Testa 1-8, Jake McElroy 3-0; L (15-26) — Ronyel Pena 5-(-16), Angel Abreu 9-42, Dylan Montanez 1-0

PASSING: NA — McElroy 1-6-1, 24; L — Ronny Pena 6-17-1, 165

RECEIVING: NA — Watson 1-24; L — Ronyel Pena 2-24, Andre Wilson 3-82, Darryl Munoz 1-59
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