RallyNorth.net

Tewksbury dumps Hillies in mud

Saturday, September, 27 By Chris Helms
Staff writer

TEWKSBURY — Just a week removed from a game in which it racked up over 330 yards on the ground, Haverhill could never quite get the offense going as the rain-slicked Doucette Stadium field kept them from gaining traction in yesterday’s 27-0 loss at Tewksbury.

Not only did Haverhill fail to score, but the team could only muster 137 yards of total offense. Even worse, the Hillies never got closer to paydirt than Tewksbury’s 14-yard line, primarily due to a surprisingly stout Tewksbury run defense.

Noel Figuereo, who amassed 169 rushing yards last week and contributed a monster 63-yard touchdown run, was held to just 58 yards on 12 attempts. Dan Triplett, who last week averaged just under 12 yards per carry (11 carries for 117 yards), touched the ball only twice and finished with a total of six yards.

“We need to improve everything, everything right now,” explained sophomore defensive back Tim Campbell. “We just have to give it everything we’ve got. We’re a good team, we’ve got the talent, and basically we just have to keep going forward.”

The Hillies seemed resolved to pound the ball inside for much of the game, a strategy that clearly did not pay off through three quarters. They decided to start heading outside the hash marks more frequently in the fourth quarter and were finally able to start doing some damage.

The Hillies were able to move the ball 57 yards upfield to within Tewksbury’s 20-yard line behind a handful of outside runs from Figuereo and quarterback Isiah Ocasio. Unfortunately, their most promising drive of the game was thwarted when Figuereo lost control of the ball on a handoff, only to have it recovered by Tewksbury with little time left.

While Haverhill’s wheels were literally stuck turning in the mud, Tewksbury was on its way to earning its first win of the season behind a dominant ground attack for which the Hillies could never find an answer.

Shifty Joel Altavesta had 148 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries while his bruiser of a backfield mate, David Manory, racked up 53 hard-fought yards on nine carries.

The lone bright spot for the visiting Hillies was the play of Campbell, who continually stepped up in spite of the mounting deficit. Campbell registered a sack toward the end of the first half that kept the Redmen from advancing into Haverhill’s red zone and also chipped in an interception in the third quarter with Tewksbury again threatening from the 25-yard line.

“No, I’m not happy with my individual performance,” said Campbell. ”It’s 11 to the ball. I’d definitely trade them [the interception and sack] in for a win."

The last time Haverhill failed to get on the board was in last September’s 28-0 loss to Catholic Memorial.