NORTH READING – It was every part {that a} battle between two of the Cape Ann League’s heavyweights ought to have been. In the tip, it was Amesbury’s physicality that helped the Indians upend North Reading, 30-27, at Kinney Field on Friday night time.
The Indians (5-0) used their huge offensive line and highly effective working recreation to grind down the clock and put on out the Hornets protection. In truth, the one time Amesbury was stopped within the recreation was after IT ran out the ultimate 5:06 of the sport following a Hornets landing that minimize the result in six factors.
“To come in here and beat a team like that on their home field takes everything you’ve got,” Amesbury coach Colin McQueen mentioned. “And it certainly did. We were able to make just enough plays to get the job done.”
How environment friendly was Amesbury’s offense? On the night time, the Indians had landing drives of three performs, 10 performs, 10 performs and 10 performs. Of the 42 performs run by Amesbury, 41 of them have been runs. But it was the lone go that may have been probably the most pivotal play within the recreation.
On fourth and three on the North Reading 13 with simply over seven minutes left, quarterback Luke Arsenault rolled left and confronted a heavy rush. Somehow he was capable of loft the ball to a diving Brandon Baker for a primary all the way down to hold the drive going.
Fittingly, it was Arsenault who paid off the drive with a four-yard keeper on second and objective for the landing that finally proved to be the distinction within the recreation.
“I don’t know how he got that ball off,” McQueen mentioned. “We talk all the time about effort and that was a perfect example of it. Luke makes a great play by keeping things alive and it gave us a shot.”
North Reading (5-1) bolted out of the gates rapidly because it drove 58 yards in 12 performs to start the sport on the again of quarterback Alex Carucci and his backfield mate Nick Batten. They accounted for all of the yards on the drive that Carucci ended with an 11-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead with 5:15 left within the half.
The Indians responded rapidly, needing solely three performs to take a lead they by no means relinquished. Nick Marden dashed 42 yards down the suitable sideline for the primary of his three touchdowns within the recreation. His conversion rush gave the Indians an 8-7 lead.
Amesbury received it proper again moments later when Brandon Baker picked off Carucci on the North Reading 34. The Indians then floor out the yards on a drive that took virtually 5 minutes with Marden’s second landing and conversion runs giving Amesbury a 16-7 lead.
“Nick is just a beast. He is tough to tackle and runs so hard with some effortless speed,” McQueen mentioned.
North Reading drove contained in the Amesbury 10 late within the half however an unlawful movement penalty set them again. Mike Sanchez then capped a virtually good half for the Indians when he got here off proper finish and blocked Matt Guidebeck’s 30-yard area objective on the ultimate play of the primary half.
Riding the momentum of that play, Amesbury took the second half kickoff and marched 67 yards, taking up 5 minutes off the clock. Marden capped the drive with a four-yard TD run on a fourth-down play for a 24-7 lead after Sanchez’s conversion rush.
The reeling Hornets wanted to regular the ship and so they did as they drove 64 yards to chop the result in 24-13 late within the third on Colucci’s second TD run of the sport. Even greater was their recovering Guidebeck’s ensuing onside kick on the Amesbury 40.
Batten and Colucci went proper again to work as they ate up the yards in solely 4 performs. Colucci’s third TD of the sport minimize the result in 24-19 with 10:00 to go.
But the Indians had the reply with Arsenault’s TD run that made it 30-19 with 6:11 to go. Colucci would discover Craig Rubino for a 55-yard TD on the subsequent drive to chop the result in 30-24 however North Reading by no means received the ball again.
Source: www.bostonherald.com