RallyNorth.net

Healthy Freiermuth, Rothwell recipe for Pentucket dominance

Saturday, September, 15 By David Willis
Staff writer

WEST NEWBURY — Just hours before game time, Pentucket captain Tim Freiermuth had no idea if he was going to be in action as he battled a nagging knee injury.

“I was on the field for a while before the game with the trainer jogging and doing cuts to see how I was feeling,” said Freiermuth. “But I knew what I wanted to do, and I am sure happy I was able to play.”

Freiermuth led a defense that allowed just 81 yards of total offense, and Cody Rothwell delivered a breakout performance with three third-quarter touchdowns as the Sachems rolled over heavily-favored Hamilton-Wenham 34-15 yesterday afternoon.

The Generals, defending CAL/NEC Division 4 champions, had beaten the Sachems the last two seasons by a combined 57-21.

“Hamilton-Wenham blew us out the last two seasons,” said Freiermuth. “This year we wanted to go get them back on our home turf. So it was great to get this one finally, in my senior season.”

The burly 5-11, 210-pound fullback/linebacker may have been a major question mark for much of the morning. But after tough carries for 8 and 10 yards up the middle on the Sachems’ first possession of the game, then a pair of tackles on Hamilton-Wenham’s first drive, he was ready to go.

“After the first couple of plays I felt great,” said Freiermuth. “I didn’t even think about the knee.”

Freiermuth made 14 tackles to pace a Pentucket defense that allowed the Generals just 31 rushing yards on 24 carries for the game, and 33 of Hamilton-Wenham’s 50 passing yards came in the fourth with the Sachems firmly in control.

As the defense dominated, Rothwell struck in a big way in the third, scoring three touchdowns in a span of just 4:26.

With the Sachems trailing 7-6 midway through the third, Rothwell powered in from 7 yards out, and followed that with a 10-yard score and a 42-yard burst to make the score 27-7 before the third was over.

Rothwell finished the day with a career-best 132 yards rushing, with 92 of those yards coming with his three scores in the second half. His previous best as a Sachem was 105 a season ago against Ipswich.

“We really wanted to take it to them today,” said Rothwell. “But we knew they were good. So it felt great to score a few times. I had a tough start to the year, so this was great.”

Freiermuth joined in on the offense attack. In his second start at fullback, the former tight end rushed for 104 tough yards on 16 carries. He had just 12 career rushing yards going into the game.

“We make a good combo,” said Rothwell with a laugh. “Fry has the short runs and I have the outside.”

Rothwell also stood out on defense with six tackles and a pass deflection, while Dan Thorton chipped in with a sack and three other tackles and Mike McCarron and Chad Legault combined to hit the quarterback and cause a fumble that McCarron recovered, setting up Rothwell’s first score.

“I feel like we stepped up to the challenge today,” said Freiermuth. “We were the underdog, and I think we surprised some people with how tough we played. I saw a few coaches here, and I think now they know they have to mark us down on their calendar.”