RallyNorth.net

Sat, Sep 30, 2017 02:00 PM @ Haverhill

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Methuen	14	14	7	7	42
Haverhill	14	0	0	0	14

Perdomo (5 TDs), Methuen finally beat Hillies

Monday, October, 02 By Kyle Gaudette

HAVERHILL - Methuen knows that there are no moral victories in football.

The Rangers played well enough to win their last two games against powerhouses Tewksbury and Central Catholic, but came up short.

The losses were difficult, and Methuen got all it could handle from Haverhill early on Saturday afternoon at Trinity Stadium.

But quarterback Jordan Perdomo accounted for five touchdowns, and the defense eventually found its groove to lift the Rangers to a 42-14 win.

It was Methuen's first win over Haverhill since 2010 (0-6, 47-163).

"It felt great, especially after the last two losses and six years of them beating us," said senior linemen Bryce Smith, whose Rangers moved to 2-2. "I was here two years ago when they put up 30 on us and it was 30-0 or whatever it was. So it felt great to come in here and put it to them."

Despite the lopsided final score, Haverhill (0-4) looked primed to pull the upset.

After Perdomo started the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown rush early in the first, Haverhill efficiently drove 69 yards on eight plays on its next drive that ended with a Kyle Connors TD run up the middle.

It looked as if Methuen would pull away for good when Peter Kwakye picked up a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 50 yards for a score, but two plays later Haverhill quarterback Brady Skafas hit Devon Cunningham on a 70-yard bomb to tie things up at 14.

"We just kept preaching that we had to keep our energy up and that we couldn't get complacent," said Smith, a returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star. "We had to just do our jobs."

Smith and the rest of the defensive line should take a bow for their performance.

Travis Manick, Smith and junior Ian McKinnon led the line to seven sacks.

Even when he wasn't dropped in the backfield, Skafas was under pressure all game. The final stat line showed 66 total rushing yards for Haverhill, and a chunk of that came with the backups in.

After allowing the big completion in the first, Xavier Ortiz and the rest of the Methuen secondary locked Haverhill down the rest of the way. Out of the 242 yards Methuen allowed all game, 160 came in the first quarter.

"It was a lot of stunting and a lot of different looks," said Smith. "Our junior Ian McKinnon stepped up today, I think he had 3.5 sacks."

Offensively, Perdomo took over for Methuen. He hit Ortiz on a 5-yard strike midway through the second to give the Rangers the lead, then ran in a 12-yard TD right before halftime.

He rushed for two more scores in the second half on runs of 3 and 23 yards.

Perdomo finished with 77 yards on 5 of 8 passing and a touchdown, and added a team-high 90 yards on 17 carries with four TDs. Kwakye had 72 yards on just five carries, and Saul Cespedes added 76 yards on 11 attempts.

Star receiver David Kelly did not play due to an ankle injury, but is expected to return next week.

Despite being under duress most of the game, Skafas still threw for 156 yards on 7 of 13 passing and a score. Cunningham hauled in two passes for 74 yards, and senior tri-captain Kyle Bellemore made some big hits on defense.

The Hillies will look for their first win Saturday at unbeaten Central Catholic, while Methuen hosts Andover Friday night.

"We haven't beaten Haverhill in six years and that was our focus this week," said Methuen coach Tom Ryan.

"Our goal was just to win and erase that six-year hiatus, and we were able to do that."

Methuen 42, Haverhill 14

Methuen (2-2):    14 14 7 7 - 42

Haverhill (0-4):    14  0 0 0 - 14

First Quarter

 M - Jordan Perdomo 3 run (Perdomo kick), 7:02

 H - Kyle Connors 2 run (Sam Prescott kick), 3:06

 M - Peter Kwakye 50 kickoff return (Perdomo kick), 2:58

 H - Devon Cunningham 70 pass from Brady Skafas (Prescott kick), 1:47

Second Quarter

 M - Xavier Ortiz 5 pass from Perdomo (Perdomo kick), 5:12

 M - Perdomo 12 run (Perdomo kick), 1:09

Third Quarter

 M - Perdomo 3 run (Perdomo kick), 8:36

Fourth Quarter

 M - Perdomo 23 run (Isaac Frederique kick), 10:43

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING

METHUEN (37-246): Jordan Perdomo 17-90, Saul Cespedes 11-76, Peter Kwakye 5-72, Xavier Ortiz 1-5, Abimeal Gonzalez 2-3, Connor Bryant 1-0

HAVERHILL (39-66): Kyle Connors 12-38, Ayden Alvarado 4-12, Kyle Bellemore 4-9, Brady Skafas 17-4, Hunter Prescott 2-3

PASSING

METHUEN - Perdomo 5-8-0, 77

HAVERHILL - Skafas 7-13-0, 156, Devon Cunningham 1-1-0, 20

RECEIVING

METHUEN - Kwakye 2-38, Sawyer Bilich 1-23, Cespedes 1-11, Ortiz 1-5

HAVERHILL - Cunningham 2-74, Dante Cadeus 3-54, Sam Prescott 2-32, H. Prescott 1-16