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Iovanella missing in Knights 21-0 loss to Hamilton-Wenham

Friday, October, 03 By Mike McMahon
Staff writer

NORTH ANDOVER — When Zac Iovanella is missing, so is the North Andover offense.

Without Iovanella, the Knights had trouble putting together a sustained drive, with three of their seven drives ending with turnovers in a 21-0 loss to Hamilton-Wenham at Joe Walsh Stadium.

According to North Andover head coach John Rafferty, Iovanella was forced into street clothes after aggravating an ankle sprain that hobbled the junior running back earlier this season, forcing him to miss the first three games. Iovanella played last week, in a 15-13 win over Newburyport.

“He’s just a little banged up,” Rafferty said. “We’re pretty confident that we’ll have him back for next week (against Medford), that’s what we’re shooting for. He’ll be OK.”

Iovanella was on the sidelines during last night’s contest. He was seen walking off the field without the aid crutches or any noticeable limp.

As for the Knights, without their star to open up the Generals’ defense, freshman quarterback Brandon Walsh had trouble moving the ball down field. Walsh, who was often scrambling due to heavy pressure from the Generals’ front seven, was just 5 for 25 passing, including two interceptions. Walsh looked his best on the Knights’ last drive, when he led them 51 yards on eight plays before it stalled on the H-W three yard line. It was a telling end to a tough night for North Andover.

“We couldn’t get into any rhythm,” Rafferty said. “It wasn’t anything that was overly complicated, we just didn’t execute or do what we needed to win a football game. It really wasn’t anything big that we did wrong, just a bunch of little things.”

Aside from the two picks, the Knights fumbled a punt return in the second quarter with the score 7-0 that kept a Generals’ drive alive. Two plays later, H-W quarterback Andy Duval connected with receiver Corey Daff who slashed his way down the field, going sideline to sideline, for a 48-yard touchdown strike to extend North Andover’s deficit to 14-0.

“It was little things,” said Rafferty. “There isn’t one big thing we need to fix, we just need to make tackles, and get to our assignments.”

North Andover also struggled to find an answer for H-W running back Casey Colyer, who powered his way to 152 yards on 28 carries.

“There were times that we were able to stop them, and times that they controlled us,” Rafferty said. “They weren’t doing anything differently, we just need to do a better job with the little things. Not doing the little things lost us this game. We need to address that.”