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Esposito brothers, Georgetown maul Minuteman

GEORGETOWN | Georgetown looked unstoppable while Minuteman Regional looked as sloppy as the waterlogged field.

The Royals ran the ball at will and their defense was simply dominant as they rolled to their sixth straight victory, 42-20, despite the relentless cold rain and strong winds that were present the entire afternoon.

Georgetown led 35-6 at halftime before playing their second unit on both sides of the ball in the second half, which was played exclusively on running time due to Mother Nature.

“I told our guys before the game, this is the type of day that tests an individual’s character,” said Georgetown head coach Matt Bouchard. “It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s sloppy, and really it’s just a mess. It’s easy to be distracted on a day like this, when maybe you don’t want to be here. But we executed all game. I’m proud of these guys.”

Royals starting quarterback Joe Esposito mudded his way through the slop for 147 yards on six carries, four of those being touchdown runs. He also added a 38-yard TD toss to receiver Anthony Conte.

The Royals offense confused the Minuteman defenders. On more than one occasion, Esposito would take a shotgun-snap and, after a play-action fake, had one half of the field completely to himself to take off on long runs.

“We ran the ball pretty well despite the elements,” said Bouchard. “You know, our practice field is a lot worse than this, so we’re used to it. It sounds crazy, but we were happy to play on this today.”

While one Esposito was leading the offense, another was marvelous on defense. Chris Esposito, Joe’s younger brother, hammered the Minuteman offense picking up six tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and he recovered another fumble.

In all, the Royals defense just overmatched Minuteman, picking up six turnovers on four fumbles and two interceptions. Junior safety Anthony Conte, who also caught a TD pass, returned his interception 23 yards for a touchdown.

”Our defense was just spectacular,” Bouchard said. “Minuteman had a tough time moving the ball, and when you add on the turnovers our defense got us, that is just huge moving forward.”

The Royals will battle Lynnfield next week, and then it’s a huge Thanksgiving Day match with Manchester Essex, which could potentially decide the Commonwealth Conference Small. “The biggest thing is that no matter who we are playing, the larger schools or the smaller schools, we are treating everyone the same,” Bouchard said. “To do that is huge. We are on a little bit of a roll, but we have some huge games down the stretch here. Football is a long season and to be able to keep in check like that mentally is a big deal.”