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Talented freshmen Kathleen LeFebre and Kelly Blackwell both homered and senior captain Chrissy Scionti went the distance (6 innings) as Methuen won its opener 7-1 over Marblehead. Scionti threw a two-hitter and fanned nine.

Led by North Andover's Max Burt's 37 in rainy conditions,  St. John's Prep defeated Malden Catholic 243-263. The Eagles (12-3) clinched a co-championship in the Catholic Conference with BC High.

Pentucket took an early first-quarter lead but was unable to maintain that momentum as Marblehead rebounded for a 21-7 season-opening victory.

In an interdivision game between Cape Ann League/Northeast Conference opponents, Marblehead's Zac Cuzner scored all three touchdowns for the visiting Division 2 Magicians.

NORTH ANDOVER — His senior prom looming yesterday, North Andover's Tyler Leavitt worked quickly, efficiently and assiduously.

In the process, Leavitt kept his perfect high school record in tact. The lefty, now 17-0 lifetime in a Knight uniform, spaced six hits and a walk, striking out six in the Division 2 North quarterfinal win over Marblehead.

Austin Bendetson came from behind to win 7-5, 6-4 at first singles to highlight Andover's 5-0 whitewashing of Marblehead.

Corey McNamara poured in 26 points, including the 1,000 of his high school varsity career, as Pentucket boys basketball won 45-32 over Marblehead at the Marblehead Tourney.

Led by a hat trick from Dan Rivet and four assists from Jake Silk, North Andover spread out the scoring in a 6-2 victory over Marblehead to open Newburyport Bank Tourney play. The Knights' third line of sophomores Chris Nigro and Tristan Stewart along with junior Derek Hunter did a fine job shutting down Marblehead's No. 1 line.

Andover's girls gymnastics team completed a perfect (14-0) regular season by defeating North Andover, Peabody and Marblehead in a quad-meet. Courtney Carver and Jenny Coneeny finished second and third in the all-around while Jesse Livingston won both the vault and bars. North Andover's freshman Nicole Stevens had an impressive 9.6 winning score in the floor and also was first in the beam and came away as the all-around winner with a 36.95. The floor and all-around scores are personal-best performances. Andover and North Andover will compete in the MVC and CAL meets Saturday.

In his first action since recovering from a concussion suffered in football, Haverhill senior Parris Williams went 3-0 with three pins in a multi-team wrestling meet at Pentucket.

MARBLEHEAD — In a game where both offenses looked like they were still in preseason form, it was only natural that the game’s two biggest plays occurred on the defensive side of the ball. Marblehead senior defensive back Bing Bial returned an interception 78 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown and the Magicians stuffed Pentucket’s potential game-tying two-point conversion in the final minutes to hang on for a 14-12 victory at Piper Field. Bing’s pick — which happened with less than three minutes to play — appeared to be nothing more than a well-timed turnover for the Magicians. When he turned up-field and started picking up blocks, however, it became game-changing. Bing raced down the left sideline, past the Pentucket bench, and watched his teammates pick off would-be Sachem tacklers one by one. His score, followed by Christian Flores’ extra point, gave the hosts a 14-6 lead. Pentucket quickly answered in its Northeastern Conference/Cape Ann League debut. Pentucket junior Nick D’Agostino took the ensuing kickoff to the 46 yard line, then Nolan Dragon busted through the middle for a 40-yard gain to put the Sachems in scoring position. Four plays later Dragon crashed in from three yards out to cut the Marblehead lead to two with 1:12 to go. Marblehead sophomore Jeremy Gillis then made the big stop on the two-point attempt, blasting into the backfield and blowing up Dragon. “We got a little lucky because that (play) wasn’t what we had expected,” Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff said. “Our defense wasn’t called for that. Fortunately, individuals made great plays there.” Even in defeat Pentucket coach Steve Hayden took a lot of positives out of the game. “They didn’t quit,” Hayden said. “Obviously that’s an experienced team over there. All you can do is ask your kids to battle and they did that.” Dragon was the most impressive offensive player in the game. The bruising fullback ran for 102 yards on 17 carries and he caught four passes for 48 yards. He scored both Pentucket touchdowns. The Sachems held Will Quigley to just 33 yards on 11 carries. He rushed for 1,200 yards last year to lead the Magicians to a 5-6 record.