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Methuen, Lowell

METHUEN –Shane Eason’s optimism only grew as Friday’s gusting winds continued throughout the day.

“Once I saw it was really windy, I kind of expected to get a lot of carries tonight,” the Methuen sophomore said. “And I did my thing.”

Eason’s thing in his third varsity start was running around and through Lowell defenders on the way to the end zone multiple time – five times to be exact.

With Eason supplying the bulk of the damage, Methuen remained unbeaten on the season with a dominant 42-7 victory over the visiting Red Raiders.

After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Rangers were surprised when Lowell chose to kick into the wind instead of having it at its back.

“The wind was a huge factor in the game,” Methuen coach Tom Ryan said. “That’s why we knew we were going to take the ball, and if not, we were going to take the wind because we wanted to get a good start. Our kicker (Omar Aboutoui, who did put the ball in the end zone on four kickoffs) is exceptional.

“The wind was a big factor in the first quarter. It just so happened that we got the ball, and they chose to go against the wind. So, I was excited about that, and that was huge. The game was over after that.”

And when Rangers put up 23 points over the first 7 minutes, the game was at the very least on its way to a quick ending.

Eason first capped an opening 80-yard drive that consumed 5 minutes with a 10-yard run. Offensive possessions quickly became shorter after fumble recoveries by Julian Martinez and Andon Zannini set up the Rangers at the Lowell 21- and 20-yard lines, resulting in Eason’s second and third scores in the first 10 minutes of the game.

A mere 7 seconds after Eason’s third touchdown, Lowell (0-3) handed Methuen a 23-0 lead when a bad snap from its own 20 went through the end zone for a safety.

As Eason was compiling 100 yards on the ground in the first quarter, Methuen piled up 151 total yards on 19 plays while limiting the Red Raiders to minus-17 yards on five plays in the opening period.

The sophomore running back wasn’t done as he added a 15-yard scoring run early in the second for a 30-0 lead before capping his night with a 13-yarder late in the third for a 36-7 advantage. He finished with 153 yards on 17 carries.

“This is a really big game to me,” said Eason, who has totaled 269 rushing yards and nine total touchdowns his first three outings. “I’m only a sophomore and a lot of people doubted me and don’t have my name on the charts as high as I think I should be. I think I showed them tonight what I can do.”

Lowell, which has lost eight of its past nine against Methuen since 2011, averted a shutout with a 48-yard passing touchdown from Evan Finn to Ryan Conley with 25 seconds left in the opening half. That play accounted for almost half of the Raiders’ 99 total yards as the Rangers were quick to the ball and gang tackled. Nine of Lowell’s 30 plays resulted in negative yardage with Methuen forcing three fumbles and intercepting a pass.

“We try to play opportunistic football on defense,” Ryan said. “We want to play fast and kind of explode on people. We kind of do that, but we still have to clean some things up if we want to be the best of the best.”

Methuen, which has outscored its first three opponents by a combined 131-47, travels to Haverhill next Friday, looking to remain undefeated.

“We feel pretty good about where we are,” Ryan said. “I’d still like to see us keep focus for a complete game. We haven’t done that yet. We’ve had seeds of really good stuff, but we haven’t really put together a complete game, so I want to see that.”