RallyNorth.net

Methuen Rangers Football '18

Fri, Oct 05, 2018 07:00 PM @ Andover
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Methuen 0 0 7 13 20
Andover 7 7 3 0 17

Bryant, Correa TD with 40 seconds left gives Methuen dramatic win

  • Currently 0.0 with 0 votes.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Friday, October, 05 By David Willis
Staff writer

 ANDOVER — With the clock ticking under a minute to play in the game and Methuen trailing by three, Rangers QB Connor Bryant dropped back and saw Wesley Correa flying down the field.
 
“Wesley is one of my favorite guys to throw to,” said Bryant. “I knew when I threw it he was going to catch it and score. I just knew that’s how the game was going to end.”
 
Bryant lofted a perfect pass to Correa, who caught it at the 2-yard line and waltzed into the end zone to give Methuen its first lead of the game with 40 seconds left in regulation.
A last-second Andover pass fell short and the Rangers earned a thrilling 20-14 comeback victory over the Golden Warriors Friday night.
“This feels amazing,” said Correa. “As soon as I scored I thought we won the game. This was the first touchdown of my varsity career, and it meant the world to me to do it for the team. To beat Andover like this is crazy.”
With the game on the line with 0:53 left, Correa knew the ball was coming his way when the play was called.
“I knew I was getting the ball,” said Correa. “I was excited. I just stayed focused and kept my eyes on the ball. I had to catch it. Connor made a perfect throw over the safety and cornerback and right into my hands.”
Once Bryant saw Correa open, he knew what to do.
“I looked right to Wesley and saw him break off that post,” said Bryant. “I threw it right over the safety and I knew it was going to be a touchdown. I saw the clock was at 40 seconds and I knew we were going to win the game.”
Methuen still needed one more stop, and Anthony Romano and Aaron Searth delivered, crashing through the line to sack Andover QB Victor Harrington.
The Golden Warriors had one last pass, but a short completion was brought down by a group of Rangers as the clock expired.
“I knew our defense would give us the last stop,” said Bryant. “I knew they would end it and win the game .”
It didn’t look early like Methuen would end the game in celebration.
Andover led 14-0 at halftime thanks to a Tommy Duncan 15-yard TD run and a Harrington 59-yard touchdown pass to Brendon Moody. 
The Golden Warrior defense was also flexing some muscle. Duncan intercepted three passes in the first half, and Kelvin Davila added another pick.
“We had a tough first half,” said Bryant. “Too many mental mistakes. But at halftime we cleaned a lot of them up.”
Methuen finally broke through with 4:01 left in the third, as Bryant found Caleb Adams for a score.
Andover answered with a Shamus Florio field goal, but the Rangers struck right back on the first play of their next drive when Bryant hit Kareem Coleman for a 78-yard score.
With time running out, Andover drove to the Methuen 36 and seemed poised to run out the clock.
But the ball was knocked out and Ranger Liam Gilmore recovered a fumble with 2:07 left. Eight plays later, Bryant found Correa to ice the dramatic finish.
“This means everything,” said Correa. “This is a huge win. We’re 4-1 now, and we want to keep it going.”

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

A — Tommy Duncan 15 run (Shamus Florio kick), 0:16

Second Quarter

A — Brendon Moody 59 pass from Victor Harrington (Florio kick), 3:15 

Third Quarter

M — Caleb Adams 21 pass from Connor Bryant (Justin Sheehan kick), 4:01

Fourth Quarter

A — Florio 39 field goal, 10:51

M — Kareem Coleman 78 pass from Bryant (Sheehan kick), 10:32

M — Wesley Correa 45 pass from Bryant (kick failed), 0:40 

 


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Methuen (33-145) — Connor Bryant 17-93, Ricky Brutus 14-56, Kareem Coleman 2-(-4); Andover (31-47) — Tommy Duncan 19-52, Josh Ramos 6-20, Elias Maita 1-3, Victor Harrington 6-(-28) 

PASSING: Methuen — Bryant 9-28-4, 233; Andover — Harrington 15-27-0, 247

RECEIVING: Methuen — Wesley Correa 5-115, Coleman 3-97, Caleb Adames 1-21; Andover — Nick Zalanskas 7-133, John Gemmell 2-11, Brendon Moody 2-51, Nic Silva 3-46, Duncan 1-6

0 Story Comments