RallyNorth.net

Walsh, Knights fall short in upset bid

Saturday, November, 08 By Steve Palladino
Staff writer

NORTH ANDOVER ­— Brandon Walsh is North Andover’s future. But as each week passes, it becomes more and more evident that the future has arrived.

The freshman quarterback nearly engineered the upset but the Scarlet Knights suffered a disappointing 27-21 loss to Wilmington.

“He is not a freshman anymore,” said North Andover head coach John Rafferty. “His confidence has grown and he has developed. He did a great job tonight.”

Walsh completed his first touchdown pass inside the stadium that bears his grandfather’s name, Joseph Walsh, and did so in a hurry as he connected with David Foote on a 68-yard bomb on the game’s first snap from scrimmage.

That was just the first of Walsh’s area-leading 323 yards, which may be a school record.

Walsh threw two more touchdown passes during a stellar opening half in which the quick-footed quarterback threw for 229 yards and a 21-7 lead.

“It was a team effort in the first half but we fell apart in the second half,” said Walsh, who aired out touchdown passes to Aaron Brunette (62 yards) and Chris Buco (21 yards) during the opening 22 minutes.

With Zac Iovanella out again (Rafferty said he was sick), the Knights fired away. The Wildcats, however, slowed down the passing attack after intermission (8 of 21, 94 yards). For the game, North Andover was limited to just 30 rushing yards.

Wilmington, meanwhile, rushed on 54 of its 59 snaps. Quarterback Steve Stewart (27 carries, 162 yards) and back Evan Butters (25, 157) combined to run on all but two of the carries.

Wilmington scored late in the first half and went ahead with two scores late in the third.

The Knights’ best opportunity came at the start of the fourth quarter. After Brunette returned a kickoff 65 yards to the Wilmington 30, North Andover went four and out. Later in the fourth, a seven-play drive stalled at the Wilmington 14.