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NORTH ANDOVER — Quad-captain Joe Roffer had one message for his North Andover teammates as they prepared to take the field in front of an enthusiastic Thanksgiving crowd.

“Before we started I looked at the guys and I said, ‘At the end of this game, I want to be holding that trophy up,’” said Roffer. “I want it in my hands.”

SUDBURY — A terrifying sequence of events played out in the final moments of North Andover’s Division 2 North semifinal loss to Lincoln-Sudbury on Friday.

Scarlet Knights star Gabe DeSouza had to be taken from the stadium in an ambulance after spending 19 minutes on the field struggling to breathe following a massive hit on a kickoff.

NORTH ANDOVER - Their first trip to the Division 2 North playoffs in two years began on a sour note, but it didn't take long for the Scarlet Knights to show why they're the No. 2 seed.
After watching visiting Waltham grab an early lead two minutes into the game, North Andover responded with scores on three of its first four possessions en route to a 34-20 quarterfinal victory over the No. 7 seeded Hawks.
Waltham (3-5) opened the game by recovering its squib kick and grabbing a 7-point lead in just four plays. But the Scarlet Knights (7-1) answered in three plays on a 22-yard run by JD Allen that was set up with by a 37-yard pass from Jake McElroy to Darren Watson on the first play of the possession.
"We told them we were in the playoffs, and they were going to be playing good teams," Knights coach John Dubzinski said. "You're going to have situations where they make good plays and we have to respond. The same thing happened last week (against Chelmsford). They had an onside kick against us they recovered. But nobody pushed the panic button, and we settled in."
McElroy and Watson hooked up for a 27-yard completion on the next possession which led to a 9-yard touchdown toss to Gabe DeSouza, who also had one of North Andover's two interceptions.
After needing only a combined six plays and 76 seconds on its first two drives, North Andover went 10 plays to take a 20-7 lead on a 1-yard run by Watson early in the second.
"We have good playmakers," Dubzinski said. "We have Jake who makes it go. We have Gabe. We have Darren and JD, so, honestly, we just find ways to distribute the ball to all those guys because they can all make some big plays."
McElroy closed out the first-half scoring with a 5-yard run for a 27-14 advantage at intermission.
"The plan was to open them up," said McElroy, who threw for 195 yards on nine-of-14 passing and ran for a team-high 71 yards. "They like to jam things inside and stop the run. Our athletes were better, and we had to open them up before we could run the ball."
North Andover all but secured the victory midway through the third when McElroy capped the Knights' scoring on a 1-yard plunge, finishing off another 10-play drive for a 34-14 lead.
The victory sends North Andover into the semifinals against the winner of today's game between No. 3 seed Newton South and Chelmsford.
"We just have to be more disciplined I think," McElroy said. "We haven't played our best game yet, but I think we're ready to go."

CHELMSFORD — While nobody on the team will admit it, and probably rightly so, North Andover may be playing its best football at the right time.

NORTH ANDOVER - North Andover's defense came up big in the first half and its offense was electric as usual in last night's 35-7 win over Dracut in front of a packed Jack Walsh Stadium.

It was one of the more satisfying victories for the Knights this season.

NORTH ANDOVER — Billerica coach Duane Sigsbury could only marvel at the performance of North Andover junior Gabe DeSouza. “What a phenomenal athlete,” said Sigsbury. “On that touchdown pass, we had two guys on him and he still made an incredible catch.” That play, a 43-yard fly pattern over the middle from Jake McElroy, tied the game, 21-21, with 5:29 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, that left plenty of time for the Indians to come back and score to prevail with a 28-21 victory, handing the Knights (4-1) their first loss of the season. “I felt pretty good getting the ball at that point,” said Sigsbury. “I thought we could keep running the ball. They have some great athletes but I thought it came down to the trenches and we did a good job.” Trailing 14-7 at halftime after Darren Watson rushed for a pair of Knights’ TDs, Billerica dominated the line of scrimmage after halftime, converting two long drives by primarily running the ball while holding North Andover to successive three-and-outs. After giving up two straight touchdowns, the Knights struck back quickly in five plays to tie it, 21-21, with DeSouza catching three passes for 72 yards, capped off by his highlight TD catch. The Indians (3-2) then drove 62 yards in 11 plays, taking more than four minutes off the clock, to score the game-winner on a three-yard run by Pat Quinn with 1:11 left to play. The Knights moved up the field with two completions for 27 yards but two straight sacks of McElroy prevented a last-gap effort at tying the game. Billerica, which rushed for 230 yards, showed dominance up front in the second half by controlling the ball for more than 14 of 22 minutes and allowing the Knights to rush just six times, none over two yards. And, with three of those six times being sacks, the North Andover total on the ground in the second half was minus-22 yards. DeSouza, meanwhile, finished with 10 catches for 170 yards and McElroy, when he had time to pass, played well, completing 15 of 26 passes for 216 yards. “The biggest thing is that we had a tough third quarter,” said North Andover coach John Dubzinski. “They did a good job up front and we didn’t handle it. “It was a tough game to lose, but we’ll try to use it as a learning experience and move on from here.”

NORTH ANDOVER — Chik Ogwuru was just a bit disappointed as he walked off the field Friday night.

The senior linebacker really wanted to reach the zone for his first career varsity touchdown.

TEWKSBURY - North Andover quarterback Jake McElroy has only played with Gabe DeSouza for three games, but he already knows his favorite thing about the 6-foot-2, 185-pound transfer from Everett.