RallyNorth.net

Sat, Oct 20, 2007 02:00 PM @ Northeast

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Manchester Essex	7	8	7	6	28
Northeast	8	14	0	8	30

Hornets upset by Knights, 30-28

Monday, October, 22 By Richard Slate
Staff writer

WAKEFIELD | Trap game. That phrase alone causes football coaches (at all levels) across the country to cringe. Manchester Essex traveled to Northeast Metro on Saturday, a game that looked like a total mismatch on paper. The Hornets were 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the Commonwealth Small Conference while the Knights were 0-6 entering its first league game. The contest had trap game written all over it and unfortunately for the Hornets, that's exactly how it turned out.

"We didn't play a very good football game today: too many penalties (5 for 35 yards) and too many turnovers (two fumbles lost)," said Manchester Essex head coach Mike Athanas. "We're not a good enough football team to win games like that where we make so many costly mistakes. We beat ourselves and Northeast just played a great game. They wanted this game more than we did."

Manchester Essex junior quarterback Pat Orlando had another big performance as he completed 12-of-22 passes for 254 and three touchdowns while also running for a score. Senior receiver Sam Cohen was once again his favorite target as he caught five passes for 120 yards. The dynamic duo was mostly held in check though in the second half as Orlando only had 79 yards passing and Cohen was held without a catch.

The bad omens for the Hornets were apparent from the first drive as they had first-and-goal from the Northeast 10-yard line but Orlando fumbled away the snap. Manchester Essex's defense held Northeast on the next drive and set up the offense with great field position.

From there Orlando had four straight completions, culminating in a two-yard touchdown pass to senior Brian Ciccone. Cohen added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

The Knights quickly responded with a four play, 57-yard drive as senior quarterback Dennis Lombardi hooked up with junior tight end Pat Horgan on a 24-yard catch and run. Horgan spun near the goal line and fumbled as he crossed it but recovered the ball.

The next drive for the home team, they looked about to score as senior running back Michael Calderone broke off a 67-yard run. Northeast had first-and-goal from the Hornets three but fumbled, Manchester Essex sophomore linebacker Ben Kekeisen fell on it.

Three plays later, the Hornets coughed it up to the Knights. Junior running back Jose Rodriguez took a reverse and scored on the next play, putting Northeast up 14-7.

Later in the second quarter, the Hornets went 75 yards for another score. Orlando finished it off with a great throw to the corner of the end zone for Kekeisen. Kekeisen also ran a successful two-point conversion to put the Hornets up 15-14 with just under two minutes left in the half.

The Knights answered with a deflating touchdown, going 71 yards on five plays. Senior running back Mike Scola scored from a yard out. The Knights added the two-point conversion, going into halftime up 22-15.

"I could tell from the beginning, we didn't come out to play hard enough and it shows," admitted Athanas. "Football games aren't won by just showing up."

Manchester Essex finished its first drive in the third quarter with a nifty Orlando four-yard scamper followed by a Cohen PAT which tied it up. However, Northeast just wouldn't go away as they grinded out a 10 play, 75 yard drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown run by junior Dan Martin.

Next, Orlando hit Ciccone with a short pass that the running back turned into a highlight reel play. He fought through multiple tacklers to get the first down then completely broke free and outraced the secondary for a 60-yard touchdown. Kekeisen was stuffed on the two-point conversion attempt, Northeast led 30-28.

After forcing a three-and-out on the next Knights possession, the Hornets were faced with fourth-and-11 from its own 36-yard line with 3:52 left and two timeouts remaining. Athanas rolled the dice as senior tight end Scott Forsythe caught a 10-yard pass but was tackled one yard short.

"When we got that possession, we knew we were going for it no matter what the field position was," Athanas stated. "We needed the ball, we didn't want to give them the ball since they were going to take too much time off the clock."

An inspired Hornets defense stopped the Knights one more time (thanks to two great plays by junior linebacker Clayton Morrissey) but Manchester Essex simply ran out of time. Orlando threw three straight incompletions as they turned it over on downs.

Manchester Essex will look to bounce back as it takes on conference foe Chelsea on Friday at Newell Stadium in Gloucester. "We gotta go practice Monday and get ready for Chelsea," Athanas said. "It's not the end of the season. We have to work harder than we did this week and hopefully come out on top Friday."