ANDOVER — It may not have been Thanksgiving morning, but it was a cold and blustery Thursday befitting of the holiday, and Andover was ready for its Turkey Day foe.
“North Andover is the team you want to beat when you play for Andover,” said Golden Warrior star Lincoln Beal. “We were so pumped. We knew we were going to come out strong. It’s always extra special to beat North Andover.”
Beal ran for one touchdown and caught a 61-yard TD from Scotty Brown in the first quarter, and Andover rolled to a 38-0 victory over Thanksgiving rival North Andover on Thursday. The game was moved up a day due to Friday’s forecast of inclement weather.
“It means everything for us to beat North Andover,” said defensive back Zayn Aruri, who had two interceptions, one he returned for a 95-yard TD. “It’s a big rivalry. We were on our home field and got to have some fans in the stands, so it was great to go out and get a statement victory.”
After being shut out by rival Central Catholic a week ago, Andover’s offense was hitting on all cylinders on Thursday.
On the Golden Warriors’ second drive, Beal broke a 35-yard run, setting up his own 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Then, one play into Andover’s next drive — a play after a 55-yard Brown touchdown run was called back for holding — Beal hauled in a Brown pass and sprinted past the defense for his 61-yard score.
“That’s my favorite play, coming out of the backfield for a pass,” said Beal, who finished with 75 rushing yards and 66 receiving yards. “Scotty threw me a perfect pass, and I broke it. The whole week, our goal was to score points fast, and we did it today.”
Brown then chipped in with a big play with his legs, hitting the edge and breaking free for a 56-yard score with 2:40 until halftime. He then all but iced the victory with 8:42 left in the game, shaking two defenders and sliding in for a 7-yard TD. He finished with a game-high 137 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Aruri, who grabbed his first interception on the first play of the fourth quarter, added the game’s final highlight in the final moments. He intercepted a pass at the 5-yard line, then seemed to dodge the entire North Andover offense on the way to his 95-yard score.
“I was reading the QB’s eyes and jumped the pass,” said Aruri. “I had a long way to go, but somehow I got in. I thought there was no chance I would get in, but I saw the open field and ran as fast as I could.”
Aruri, a senior first-year starter, now has five interceptions on the season. He also had two picks against Methuen.
“Zayn’s play has been excellent,” said Andover coach EJ Perry. “He’s been tackling well and has been just overall great. He was coming off an injury, and it would have been tough for him to play in the fall, so I’m glad he had this opportunity.
“Lincoln, I think, is the best around. A lot of people are seeing what he does on both offense and defense. He’s 15-years-old. When he matures, it’s going to be a big difference.”
Beal also had an interception, and Matt Rigazio had a pick that was disallowed by a roughing the passer. Charlie Baillargeon had a sack and Connor Sheehan continued to star with 12 tackles.
The Golden Warriors will now close out the season by hosing Chelmsford next Thursday at 5 p.m.
“I think we’ve been getting better every week,” said Aruri. “We want to continue that trend. We want to have our best game of the season and finish strong.”
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Football, 04/15/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
DRACUT — North Andover stormed to a 21-0 halftime lead and held on to beat Dracut, 27-20.
The Middies (0-4) cut it to 27-20 midway through the fourth quarter but the Scarlet Knights held on.
Aidan Lynch got the visitors on the board in the first quarter with a 20-yard TD grab from Will Schimmoeller. A.J. Lawrence (17 run) and Steven Ferullo (2 run) scored in the second quarter.
But the Middies made it interesting, scoring on a long TD run and a long TD pass in the third quarter. Those were sandwiched around a Jack Ferullo 30-yard TD run. Dracut passed for another score in the fourth with plenty of time remaining.
The Knights (2-3) were led by senior Steven Ferullo, who carried 25 times for 90 yards. Junior brother Jack Ferullo had the TD run and 12 tackles. And sophomore brother Brian had a big late interception.
Up Next?
North Andover at Andover, Friday, 6 p.m.
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Football, 04/10/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
NORTH ANDOVER — Kyle Darrigo, a 5-6, 160-pound running back, stole the show with 20 carries for 218 yards and 4 scores as Tewksbury (4-0) rolled past North Andover, 41-14, on Friday night.
According to the Boston Globe, the Scarlet Knights "(Were) playing shorthanded with a large portion of the roster in quarantine because of contract tracing related to a recent JV game."
Late in the first half, Will Schimmoeller threw TD passes to Max Wolfgang and Jack Ferullo (24 seconds left) but it wasn't enough as the Knights (1-3) dropped their third straight.
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Football, 04/03/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
NORTH ANDOVER — The “B” on the other side of the field stood for Billerica.
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Football, 03/20/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
NORTH ANDOVER – The way the Fall 2 season opened up
Saturday afternoon, it looked as if North Andover had last played a football
game a week ago instead of Thanksgiving Day 2019.
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Football, 03/13/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
