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WEST NEWBURY — At halftime, Pentucket senior Jeremy Krugh figured that it was up to him to take charge. Not only were the Sachems trailing a fired-up winless Triton squad 14-12, but they were now missing junior star Nolan Dragon, who had broken a bone in his leg in Pentucket’s first series of the game after catching a 15-yard pass. Without Dragon, who plays fullback and is Pentucket’s top defensive player, the Sachems were getting outplayed. “Everyone was down at halftime,” said Krugh, who alternates with Dragon in the backfield. “I knew I had to step up. There was no way we were going to win unless I stepped up.” And that’s exactly what Krugh did, rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns, helping out with a regrouped defense and teaming with quarterback Mike Doud to eventually overwhelm the Vikings, 41-20, to cap off a successful 8-3 season. “I couldn’t have asked for more for my last game,” said Krugh. “It came down to who had more heart and we did. I was running as hard as I could, but I got some great blocking.” The Sachems took the lead on their first possession of the second half when Krugh completed a 57-yard drive with a 10-yard run through the middle and then ran in the extra points to make it 20-14. Triton tied it up right away when Derek Paquette scored his second TD of the game on a four-yard run, completing a 74-yard drive, but then it was all Pentucket. Four plays later, Krugh went through the right side of the line, shook off a tackle and went 53 yards for the eventual game-winner, making it 27-20. A recovered fumble by Stephen Girard on the Triton 23 set up a one-yard plunge by Doud and a Sean Brennan 17-yard scamper completed Pentucket’s scoring. In addition to Krugh’s heroics, the offensive line of Kevin Dunn, Tim Porter, Forest Spieler, Braeden Leach and Kyle Nickerson stood out and Doud was terrific in his final game as a Sachem. Not only did Doud rush for two touchdowns, he threw a 12-yard TD strike to Tim Freiermoth in the first half and ended the day completing 10 of 11 passes for 110 yards. Appropriately, he also halted Triton’s last scoring chance with an interception in the end zone. “We were kind of scared at halftime,” said Freiermoth, “But Krugh stepped up and then everyone started playing well.”

No. Andover is going to the playoffs! NA beat Pentucket 41-22 as Jack Murphy rushed for 248 yds and 3 TDs. Brandon Walsh had 155 total yards, 2 TD runs and a TD pass. The Knights, who still have to play Masco on Thanksgiving, scored on every possession except their last, when time ran out.

TOPSFIELD —  As far as iron man football players in the Cape Ann League go, Pentucket’s Nolan Dragon is the cream of the crop.

In last night’s 23-7 victory over Masconomet (2-7) Dragon looked like a man among boys as the junior fullback/linebacker led the Sachems offensively with 120 yards on 15 carries including a touchdown (one yard) while anchoring the defense with 14 second-half tackles and more than 20 on the game. At one point in the second half, Dragon had made nine consecutive tackles for Pentucket.

WEST NEWBURY — With hopes sky-high after upsetting Wilmington a week ago, Pentucket had no intention of a letdown yesterday.

“If you keep winning, it keeps snowballing,” said lineman Kevin Dunn. “Everything is on the line the next few weeks for the league title, but we weren’t looking past North Reading.”

WEST NEWBURY — Hours before the game, while eating his breakfast, Pentucket’s Nolan Dragon looked over at his father and told him he had a good feeling.

“I said, ‘I feel like we can win today,’” remembered Dragon. “It wasn’t a prediction, but we felt really confident that we could take this one.”

WEST NEWBURY — Following a lackluster first half, Mike Doud and the Pentucket defense knew something had to change.

“We were just too soft in the first half,” said Doud. “We were very passive and let (Amesbury quarterback) Tyler Lay pick us apart. We had to make a change, and we did just that.”

IPSWICH — Pentucket quarterback Mike Doud had mixed feelings about sitting out the entire fourth quarter last night in the Sachems’ 41-2 Cape Ann League romp over Ipswich. “It’s good and it’s bad,” said Doud. “I like to be in there all the time, but it’s great to play so well that you can sit back and watch the JVs play. That was great for (sophomore) Ben Meuse.” Meuse scored the last of six Pentucket TDs in the fourth quarter as the Sachems dominated from the get-go. Pentucket scored on the third play of the game on a 40-yard dash by Paul Treado (8 carries, 70 yards) as he, Jeremy Krugh (11-85, two TDs) and Sean Brennan (5-70, TD) ran at will. As a result, the Sachems (3-2) scored the first four times they had the ball, built a 27-2 halftime lead an coasted after intermission. Although Doud wasn’t quite as productive, he was involved in two of the prettiest offensive plays of the night. In the second quarter on a 3rd-and-17, he rolled left and then abruptly threw it across the field to the right for a nifty 25-yard screen pass play to Brennan. The, after intercepting an Ipswich pass and returning it 20 yards, he directed an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a beautiful 34-yard lead pass to John Modlish. When he first let go of the ball, it looked like he might have overthrew Modlish, but he ran under it in perfect stride for the score. “It felt great coming out of my hands and I’m lucky that John go under it,” said Doud. “I don’t get too many of those, so it’s definitely one to be proud of.” Defensively, Pentucket held Ipswich — which was missing its starting fullback and split end due to injuries — to four first downs and just 62 rushing yards. Among the Pentucket defensive standouts were linebacker Nolan Dragon and lineman Braedon Leach.

NEWBURYPORT — For a moment, it appeared to spectators — and Newburyport quarterback Ryan O’Connor — that the pass may sail high and a Pentucket defender could have a play on the ball.

HAMILTON — Pentucket quarterback Mike Doud did his best to remain optimistic following the game.

“In the second half we started to click better,” said Doud. “We were finding holes and picking up quality yards. But it was just too late.”

WEST NEWBURY — Pentucket athletic director Dan Thornton was busy texting yesterday afternoon, less than a minute into the Sachems’ home game against Danvers.

“Sean’s (Brennan) dad called me before the game and said to tell him if Sean did anything,” said Thornton. “He went to Villanova to visit Sean’s older brother, Michael.”