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Chelmsford rebounds against Methuen

Friday, October, 09 By Jeff Hamrick

CHELMSFORD — Rebounding from an upset loss a week ago when it allowed the winning score with 27 seconds left, Chelmsford appears back on track after a dominating 24-7 victory over Methuen last night.

The Lions, ranked 17th in eastern Massachusetts, not only bounced back from a shocking loss to Lawrence seven days earlier, but they avenged last year's upsetting defeat to Methuen (3-2).

"We came out flat last week, and that was a big emphasis in practice," said Chelmsford running back Joe Gennaro, who shredded the Methuen defense for 214 yards rushing on 31 attempts. "We had to come out with intensity and that made all the difference. It was a nice win, but we have a big game coming up with Andover, so we have another big week of practice coming up.

Methuen, which crossed midfield only twice until the game's final possession, provided Chelmsford (4-1) more help than the Lions needed. The Rangers were intercepted twice, setting up Chelmsford for two of its four scoring drives. Methuen also aided two Chelmsford drives with four personal fouls, resulting in 51 yards of penalties.

"I don't know what to say," Methuen coach Pat Graham said. "I don't even know where to start. There isn't much you can say after a performance like that. (Chelmsford) wasn't doing anything that surprised us. We practiced stopping (Gennaro). We just weren't able to execute it. The first thing (to address this week) is our character. We had too many personal foul penalties."

Gennaro, who gave the Lions a 6-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run early in the second then closed the game's scoring with another run early in the fourth, did much of Chelmsford's heavy lifting. The junior tailback, who also caught three of quarterback Sean Harrington's five completions, accounted for 34 of his teams 53 plays from scrimmage. Eight of his rushing attempts went for 10 yards or more, including one of 33 that ignited a 10-play drive that provided Chelmsford an 18-7 lead with 5:04 left in the third period.

"My guys up front were doing a great job," Gennaro said. "They were making their blocks and opening big holes for me all night."

Methuen did manage to take a 7-6 lead with 3:34 left in the first half when Cal Carroll ran for a 7-yard score. But the Rangers rushing attack was stymied, accumulating only 86 yards until their final possession, which acconted for 12 of their 46 plays (26.1 percent) and four of their nine first downs.

 "There were a couple times when we could've made some big plays," said Cal Carroll, who was held to 47 yards passing while completing just four of his 18 attempts. "I myself wasn't very on strike with my throws. Next week is our first league game, and we know this loss is just going to make us work harder and harder this week in practice. We're going to have to push ourselves to go beat Haverhill."