North Andover hammers Chelmsford
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Friday, October, 05
By Jeff Hamrick
Correspondent
NORTH ANDOVER – Looking at the Scarlet Knights’ schedule, it was easy to see Week 5 shaping up as a trap kind of game for sixth-ranked North Andover.
After all, not only was visiting Chelmsford winless, but the Lions had scored only seven points while losing their first four. And up next for the Knights is Dracut, which entered the weekend undefeated and a half-game ahead of North Andover atop the MVC Division 2 standings.
“We don’t look ahead at anybody,” Gabe DeSouza said. “Every week we prepare as if it’s the Super Bowl, and we don’t take anything for granted. So, all week we prepared for them like it was going to be for a state championship.”
It proved to be a solid philosophy as DeSouza provided his share of the points and the North Andover defense held the visitors to only five first downs as the Knights dominated the Lions in a 37-0 rout.
North Andover (2-0 conference, 5-0 overall) took advantage of a Mike Roche blocked punt midway through the opening period that set up a 2-yard Darren Watson scoring run one play later. Two possessions later, DeSouza connected on a 32-yard field goal, capping another short drive.
Those same two play makers then provided North Andover a 24-0 halftime lead with a couple sterling plays. First it was Watson, who blasted an off-tackle play behind linemen John Roche and Matthew Samenuk and went untouched for 52 yards. Then it was DeSouza’s turn grabbing a highlight-reel 23-yard reception from Jake McElroy at the goal-line flag with 46 seconds left.
“I told Jake, ‘Let me make a play,’ and I’ll take care of the rest,” DeSouza said. “We’ve had a connection since the first day I got here. He has faith in me, and I have faith in him to put the ball where it needs to be. It’s just like playing catch.”
Freddy Gabin, who ran for a game-high 141 yards, scored on a 40-yard run early in the third before DeSouza and McElroy hooked up on an 8-yard touchdown to finish the scoring with 3:28 left in the third.
Chelmsford (0-2, 0-5) was held to 108 yards of total offense – 39 of it on 21 rushing attempts. Watson and Shaun Nichols each had an interception for the Knights.
“We just basically tell the kids that we have a faceless opponent every week, and we’re both 0-0,” North Andover coach John Dubzinski said. “It’s the same mantra: we want to practice well to win high school games … We had a great week of practice and the kids responded very well. The defense played well. They were aggressive and were attacking.”
Game Statistics:
North Andover 37, Chelmsford 0
Chelmsford (0-2 MVC, 0-5 overall) 0 0 0 0 — 0
North Andover (2-0, 5-0) 7 17 13 0 — 37
First Quarter
NA – Darren Watson 2 run (Gabe DeSouza kick) 5:20
Second Quarter
NA – FG DeSouza 32, 09:42
NA – Watson 52 run (DeSouza kick) 4:15
NA – DeSouza 23 pass from Jake McElroy (DeSouza kick) 0:46
Third Quarter
NA – Freddy Gabin 40 run (kick failed) 7:42
NA – DeSouza 8 pass from McElroy (DeSouza kick) 3:28
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: CHELMSFORD (21-39) – Mike Vechione 12-36, Chris Rabais 4-9, Liam Gilet 3-(-1), Mike Lupoli 2-(-5); NORTH ANDOVER (37-289) – Gabin 10-141, Watson 6-88, Sebastion Vente 10-56, Mike Difo 3-20, Christopher Upson 2-9, William Schimmoeller 2-0, Peter Radulski 1-(-1), McElroy 3-(-24)
Passing: CHELMSFORD – Rabias 7-22-1, 69 yards, Lupoli 0-1-1; NORTH ANDOVER – McElroy 10-17-0, 125
Receiving: CHELMSFORD – Kevin Stolki 3-28, Dylan Brotherston 1-30, Lupoli 1-6, Peter Caruso 1-4, Vecchione 1-1; NORTH ANDOVER – DeSouza 5-64, Ryan Slattery 3-43, Matthew Chicko 2-18
