North Andover, Andover

Wed, Nov 21, 2018 05:00 PM @ Andover
Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
North Andover	21	7	6	7	41
Andover	0	0	7	20	27

North Andover, Andover

Currently 0.0 with 0 votes.
1
2
3
4
5

Wednesday, November, 21 By Hector Longo
Correspondent

ANDOVER — Cold, wind and ice all presented late November obstacles here at Lovely Field on Wednesday night.

North Andover High’s speed and explosiveness negated them all.

The unbeaten Scarlet Knights rolled up a 28-0 halftime lead, sent the starters to the bench in the second half and finished off rival Andover High, 41-27.

North Andover moves to 11-0 on the year, evens the Turkey Day series with the Golden Warriors at 2-2 and now, after a day to feast with the family, can set its sights on King Philip Regional and the Nov. 30 Division 2 state championship at Gillette Stadium.

“Come out, put points on the board, get out healthy and get ready for the next game. That was the plan,” said Darren Watson, following his three-touchdown night.

For the most part, North Andover did just that, although some gritty play from Andover, plus some creative onside kick work by Shamus Florio forced the Knights’ starters back on the field after thinking their night was complete.

The outcome in this one was clear early.

“Their speed was very evident, and you can see why they’re so good,” said Andover coach E.J. Perry, whose club finished at 3-7. “We gave up three big plays on special teams to them, and that was the difference. You just can’t do that against a team like that.”

Fourth down simply was not Andover’s friend.

On the Knights’ opening drive, facing a 4th-and-4, Jake McElroy got things started with a 25-yard TD pass to Watson.

Andover went three-and-out, then on fourth, Gabe DeSouza hauled in a punt and dashed 82 yards on the return. In a blink, it was 14-0.

Another Warrior punt, and this time it was Watson, speeding 88 yards to paydirt.

“We haven’t had any kind of returns for touchdowns this year,” laughed Watson. “Gabe was calling for me to reverse but I thought I saw something.”

What Watson saw was a patch of green and ultimately the end zone.

The final fateful fourth down wasn’t a score, but it set up the fourth TD of the first half, just before the intermission.

On fourth-and-10 on his own 41, DeSouza, from punt formation, chose to tuck it and run, racing 31 yards down the left sideline.

Four plays later, Freddy Gabin got into the act, with a 13-yard TD.

The dominance continued into the third when McElroy hit Ryan Slattery for 4 yards and a 34-0 lead.

That sent the regulars to the bench.

Andover wasn’t done, though.

Freshman QB Victor Harrington (13-34, 266 yards, 4 TDs) and the Warriors got on the board late in the third with a 65-yard strike to senior Nick Zalanskas.

Harrington would add a 9-yarder to Zalanskas and a 30-yard hookup with Brendon Moody, slicing the margin to 34-21 and forcing the Knight regulars back into action.

A Watson 12-yard interception return for touchdown finally put it away, although Zalanskas did catch his third score with a minute to play, allowing for the final margin.

The senior ended his career in style with seven catches for 126 yards.

“Zalanskas was excellent, and I was impressed with Harrington again,” said Perry. “Under the pressure and stress in a game like this, the freshman handled himself well He’s the real deal. Now, we need him to keep working harder and improving his game.”

Watson caught seven passes for 117 yards on the night, and McElroy finished his performance at 10 of 18 for 141 yards. Defensively, the Knights made big plays when they had to with Steven Ferullo and Mike Roche splitting three sacks evenly. Thomas Vance had an interception.

North Andover 41, Andover 27

No Andover (11-0) 21-7-6-7 — 41

Andover (3-7) 0-0-7-20 — 27

First Quarter

NA — Darren Watson 25 pass from Jake McElroy (Gabe DeSouza kick) 7:56

NA — DeSouza 82 punt return (Gabe DeSouza kick) 4:45

NA — Watson 88 punt return (Gabe DeSouza kick) 2:46

Second Quarter

NA — Freddy Gabin 13 run (Gabe DeSouza kick) 1:10

Third Quarter

NA — Ryan Slattery 4 pass from Jake McElroy (kick blocked) 2:02

AND — Nick Zalanskas 65 pass from Victor Harrington (Shamus Florio kick) 1:06

Fourth Quarter

AND — Nick Zalanskas 9 pass from Victor Harrington (Shamus Florio kick) 8:46

AND — Brendon Moody 30 pass from Victor Harrington (Shamus Florio kick) 3:56

NA — Darren Watson 12 interception return (Gabe DeSouza kick) 2:29

AND — Nick Zalanskas 3 pass from Victor Harrington (Shamus Florio kick) 1:19

Statistical Leaders

Rushing

NORTH ANDOVER: Darren Watson 2-6, Freddy Gabin 9-32, Jake McElroy 4-60, Gabe DeSouza 1-31

ANDOVER: Tommy Duncan 7-34

Passing

NORTH ANDOVER: Jake McElroy 10-18-2, 141

ANDOVER: Victor Harrington 13-34-2, 266

Receiving

NORTH ANDOVER: Watson 7-117, Slattery 1-4, Matt Chicko 1-7, DeSouza 1-13

ANDOVER: Zalanskas 7-126, Moody 3-95, John Gemmell 2-41, Duncan 1-4

Game Statistics: