HAVERHILL — Adrian Surrette was immense on both sides of the ball, to lead Haverhill High to its first tournament victory of the season, 42-7, over Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Friday night.
Offensively, the junior ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries and threw for a third score. Defensively, he intercepted a pair of passes in the first quarter.
The Hillies dominated on both sides of the ball, rolling up more than 350 yards of total offense, including 301 on the ground. Defensively, Haverhill was nearly perfect, shutting down everything the Falcons tried to do. Cambridge was held to minus-2 yards rushing on 12 attempts and quarterback Ben Berlinsky, under a heavy pass rush all night, was sacked twice and intercepted three times.
Cambridge (1-8) didn't earn its first first down without the help of a penalty until midway through the third quarter. And by that point, Haverhill had built a 28-0 lead and had the game well in hand.
For Haverhill Head Coach Tim O'Connor, it was a gratifying result, given the hard work his team has put in and its struggles against the iron of the Merrimack Valley Conference.
"It's been a long time coming," said O'Connor. "I'm proud of the effort and I'm proud of the commitment level. The level of loyalty of all the kids has been exceptional and I'm just really proud of them."
Haverhill (1-9) wasted no time setting the tone for the game. On Cambridge's second play from scrimmage, Surrette stepped in front of a Berlinsky pass for an interception, setting up the Hillies at the Falcons' 34 yard line. Five plays later, senior Tristin Naylor (10 rushes, 66 yards) swept around left end for a 7-yard touchdown run and a 6-0 lead.
On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Shawn Joubert scored on a 4-yard run, capping a 51-yard drive. Alec Valenti rushed for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.
But the Hillies weren't done.
Later in the quarter, they put together a 78-yard scoring drive that ate up nearly seven minutes. Surrette put the exclamation point on the drive with a perfect 52-yard touchdown pass to Naylor, who split the defense and snared the pass in stride.
Haverhill extended the lead to 28-0 on its opening drive of the third quarter, with Joseph Spero scoring from two yards out.
Cambridge finally broke the shutout when Berlinsky (9 of 15, 82 yards) connected with Libaan Aden on a 9-yard touchdown pass. But that third quarter drive featured the only offensive first downs the Falcons would manage for the game.
Haverhill wrapped up the scoring in the fourth quarter on a pair of touchdown runs by Surrette, the first from 3 yards and the second, a highlight-reel 52 yard scamper.
In between, the Haverhill defense recorded its third interception. This one was a spectacular leaping grab by sophomore Davin Carreiro.
Read More »
Football, 11/12/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
LEXINGTON — Ahmad Hansberry scored on a touchdown pass and a long pick-6 as host Lexington beat Haverhill, 20-9, Saturday in a non-playoff game.
Tristan Naylor caught a TD pass from Adrian Sarrette to lead the Hillies (0-9). The Minutemen improved to 2-6.
Read More »
Football, 11/06/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
BILLERICA — Three Haverhill turnovers turned into three second quarter touchdowns for Billerica, as the Indians rolled over the Hillies, 28-6, Friday night.
In all, Haverhill (0-7) turned the ball over four times, including a fumble and three interceptions.
"We tried to open things up a bit. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't," said Haverhill Coach Tim O'Connor.
Billerica (5-2) was content to play "ground and pound" against the Hillies, rolling up 326 yards rushing. Dominic Gird led the way for the Indians with 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries, with 107 of those yards coming in the first half.
Dhaethmy Dorival added 73 yards and Jacob Linton had 68 yards and a touchdown as part of the Indians' balanced ground game.
By contrast, Haverhill was held to just 113 yards of total offense but just 36 yards through the first three quarters, as Billerica built a 28-0 lead.
"What you saw was them just being more physical and stronger up front, winning the battle on the lines," said O'Connor. "And if that's not evidence of the need to hit the weight room during the off-season, I don't know what is."
One bright spot for Haverhill came courtesy of junior quarterback Adrian Surrette, who platooned behind center and led the Hillies on a 15-play, 77-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Surrette (10 carries, 45 yards) capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
The Haverhill defense came out of the gate strong, forcing punts on Billerica's first two possessions. However, turnovers Hillies' offense provided the Indians with excellent field position and they didn't waste their opportunities.
Billerica safety Ryan Hornsby picked off a pass by Surrette late in the first quarter, giving the Indians the ball at their own 42. Six plays later, Gird bolted nine yards into the endzone on an inside trap to give Billerica the lead. Jason Martin hauled in the 2-point conversion pass from Kyle Breitwieder to make it 8-0.
Hornsby's second interception led to a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run by Linton. Michael Murnane connected with Scott Einarson for the two-point conversion pass.
A fumble by J-Kwon Peguero on Haverhill's next possession set Billerica up at midfield. This time the drive took seven plays, all on the ground, with Murnane taking care of business himself on a six-yard keeper to give Billerica a 22-0 halftime lead.
Gird closed out the Billerica scoring on a one-yard touchdown run, as the Indians mounted a 58-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the second half.
Read More »
Football, 10/30/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
HAVERHILL — Lincoln Beal ran for two touchdowns and caught two more through the air, as Andover High pulled away from Haverhill, 42-21, Friday night at Haverhill Stadium.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Golden Warriors (3-3) and kept their tournament hopes alive heading into next weekend's game against Lowell. Andover Coach EJ Perry told his team after the game he considered this win "Game 1" as they head down the stretch of the regular season.
"This was huge for us. That's why I brought out the seniors (in his post-game speech)," said Perry. "We have just nine seniors on the team and every one of them did their jobs tonight."
Two of those seniors are Tyler Fabbri and Luke Newton, each of whom came up with huge turnovers leading to touchdowns, as Andover pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Andover held a slim 22-21 lead entering the final quarter. But Beal (12 carries, 119 yards, 2 TD) changed that quickly, bolting 54 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the quarter. The Haverhill defense stuff Beal's 2-point rush attempt to stay within a touchdown at 28-21.
Haverhill, which used a ground and pound attack to roll up 266 yards on 56 carries, got into trouble when they strayed from their game plan. On their ensuing possession, the Hillies (0-6) from inside Andover territory and faced a 4th and 3 at the Warrior's 43. On came back up quarterback James Farrell who tried to throw for the critical first down.
But Farrell never saw Fabbri, who stepped in front of the receiver at the 39 and raced, untouched, 61-yards for the "pick-6" and a 35-21 Andover lead.
Things only got worse for Haverhill on its next possession. The Hillies drove from their own 24 to the Andover 5 (all on the ground) and appeared poised to slice the lead in half with just under three minutes. But an errant pitch from quarterback Nolen Skafas put the ball on the turf. Newton, a defensive lineman, scooped up the ball and started rumbling toward the end zone. Around the Haverhill 40, he handed the ball to teammate Patrick Cote, and the fleet-footed defensive back finished the touchdown return and put the game away.
"We just had too many mental mistakes," said Haverhill Coach Tim O'Connor. "We were undisciplined a couple of times and got out of our offense. A couple of times we thought we'd be able to do certain things but we weren't able to."
Haverhill ran the ball effectively out of their double-wing formation. Wingback Tristin Naylor (19 carries, 84 yards) and fullback Victor Martinez (15 carries, 80 yards) did the majority of their damage between the tackles. The yardage didn't come in huge chunks, but Andover had trouble getting its defense off the field.
Beal gave the Golden Warriors the early lead on a 1-yard touchdown run, capping a 13-play, 76 yard drive. But Haverhill answered with a lengthy drive of its own (15 plays, 75 yards), with Martinez barreling in from seven yards out to tie the game, 7-7, early in the second quarter.
Following an Andover fumble, Haverhill grabbed its only lead on a 3-yard run by Martinez to make it 13-7 (the PAT try was blocked by Beal).
Andover quickly regained the lead on a 52-yard scoring strike from Scotty Brown (7 of 12, 142 yards, 2 TD) to Beal. The pair hooked up again just before the half, this time from 34 yards out, giving Andover a 22-13 lead at intermission.
Haverhill was able to make a game of it, taking the second half kickoff and marching 57 yards in 15 plays, capped by a 3-yard keeper by Skafas for the score. He also rushed for the conversion to make it 22-21.
Read More »
Football, 10/15/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
By Bill Gilman
Correspondent
METHUEN — Precise. Efficient. Brutal.
Methuen High took care of business quickly Friday night , scoring on every one of its first-half possessions, en route to a 41-12 romp over Haverhill, at Nicholson Stadium.
The Rangers built a 41-6 halftime lead and the entire second half was played under running time.
After putting on an aerial display in last week's win over Lowell, the Rangers focused on their running attack against the Hillies, rolling up 257 yards on the ground. Senior JP Muniz once again led the way, gliding his way to 147 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries before taking the second half off.
"We really wanted to focus on the ground game tonight and they did everything we asked of them," said Methuen Coach Tom Ryan. "Muniz has been such a good back for us all year. He's been very consistent."
The Methuen offensive line dominated throughout the first half, opening gaping holes for all of the Methuen runners. Almost every play run was between the tackles and the Rangers' big men obliged, creating easy-to-follow running lanes.
Muniz got things going for Methuen, capping the opening drive with a 26-yard touchdown run. On the second possession, Ryan put the ball in the hands of backup quarterback Xander Silva, who engineered his own scoring drive and put an exclamation on it with a 21-yard keeper for the score.
"We have two talented quarterbacks and we like to be able to get them both out there, try some different things," said Ryan.
Muniz was unstoppable in the second quarter, scoring on runs of 12, 7 and 3 yards, as the Rangers' lead ballooned to 34-0.
Meanwhile, the Methuen defense was equally dominant, holding Haverhill to just 13 yards of total offense in the first half. For the game, the Hillieds managed just 8 yards on 13 carries on the ground.
"We've been looking for a consistent effort from the line on both sides of the ball and that's what we got tonight. They executed really well," said Ryan.
Haverhill was finally able to get on the board thanks to its special teams. Following Muniz' fourth touchdown of the half, Haverhill's Tristan Naylor returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for the touchdown. Naylor found a seam up the middle, then cut to the outside and was able to outrace Methuen kicker Omar Aboutoui to the end zone.
Haverhill's momentum was short-lived. Methuen struck back quickly, this time through the air. Drew Eason (5 of 6, 87 yards) found Braeden Carter on a fade pattern from nine yards out to push the lead to 41-6.
Naylor accounted for the only scoring of the second half, hauling in a 46-yard TD pass from Haverhill's backup quarterback James Farrell.
Methuen has a short week to prepare for its next MVC test. The Rangers will be on the road Thursday night at Andover.
Read More »
Football, 10/01/21 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
