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North Andover powers past Waltham in tournament opener

Friday, October, 27 By By Jeff Hamrick

NORTH ANDOVER - Their first trip to the Division 2 North playoffs in two years began on a sour note, but it didn't take long for the Scarlet Knights to show why they're the No. 2 seed.
After watching visiting Waltham grab an early lead two minutes into the game, North Andover responded with scores on three of its first four possessions en route to a 34-20 quarterfinal victory over the No. 7 seeded Hawks.
Waltham (3-5) opened the game by recovering its squib kick and grabbing a 7-point lead in just four plays. But the Scarlet Knights (7-1) answered in three plays on a 22-yard run by JD Allen that was set up with by a 37-yard pass from Jake McElroy to Darren Watson on the first play of the possession.
"We told them we were in the playoffs, and they were going to be playing good teams," Knights coach John Dubzinski said. "You're going to have situations where they make good plays and we have to respond. The same thing happened last week (against Chelmsford). They had an onside kick against us they recovered. But nobody pushed the panic button, and we settled in."
McElroy and Watson hooked up for a 27-yard completion on the next possession which led to a 9-yard touchdown toss to Gabe DeSouza, who also had one of North Andover's two interceptions.
After needing only a combined six plays and 76 seconds on its first two drives, North Andover went 10 plays to take a 20-7 lead on a 1-yard run by Watson early in the second.
"We have good playmakers," Dubzinski said. "We have Jake who makes it go. We have Gabe. We have Darren and JD, so, honestly, we just find ways to distribute the ball to all those guys because they can all make some big plays."
McElroy closed out the first-half scoring with a 5-yard run for a 27-14 advantage at intermission.
"The plan was to open them up," said McElroy, who threw for 195 yards on nine-of-14 passing and ran for a team-high 71 yards. "They like to jam things inside and stop the run. Our athletes were better, and we had to open them up before we could run the ball."
North Andover all but secured the victory midway through the third when McElroy capped the Knights' scoring on a 1-yard plunge, finishing off another 10-play drive for a 34-14 lead.
The victory sends North Andover into the semifinals against the winner of today's game between No. 3 seed Newton South and Chelmsford.
"We just have to be more disciplined I think," McElroy said. "We haven't played our best game yet, but I think we're ready to go."