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Brooks stumbles to Governor's

Saturday, October, 18 By Jeff Hamrick

NORTH ANDOVER — Brooks has suffered more than its share of losses the past four years, but maybe none of them stung quite as much as the one last night.

That in itself might be the biggest proof the Green and White are headed in the right direction.

Looking for its first victory over perennial power Governor's Academy in five years, Brooks held its own, but was unable to build off the pregame hype in a 25-6 loss. Governor's, which has won at least a share of the Independent School League regular-season title each of the past three years, has now won 30 of its past 31 games.

"Being 4-0, the school was behind us," said North Reading running back Chris Cervizzi, who had 111 yards and a score on 12 carries. "They were selling shirts and wristbands all week. The hype was huge. We were the only two teams left undefeated. It was a huge week on campus."

Being undefeated was quite a turnaround for Brooks, which had gone 4-28 since its last winning season, finishing 7-2 in 2009 — the last time it defeated Governor's, which had outscored Brooks by an average score of 39.8-9.0 the previous four years.

Governor's held a 17-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the second quarter. Rushing touchdowns by Seth Harrell and Amesbury's Brandon Lopez preceded a 27-yard field goal by Boxford's William Dwyer.

Cervizzi put Brooks on the board 56 seconds after Dwyer's kick with a 53-yard blast on a third-and-three trap with 9:18 left before half.

"I think they won the first quarter, and we won the second," Cervizzi said. "They always play tough. I just knew we couldn't make any mistakes ... I think we played tough. It's one game, and we're thinking of the future. It's a learning opportunity."

Other Brooks locals who contributed included Methuen's Jalen Martinez (34 yards on eight carries), North Andover's Nick Konovalchick (four receptions for 40 yards) and Haverhill's Coy Candalerio (1 catch, 7 yards). Defensively Andover's Nolan LeBlanc (one sack for a 14-yard loss) and Boxford's Will Gibeley paced a defense that held Governor's to one second half score.

Governor's added a final score on a 69-yard pass from Harrell to West Newbury's Zach Coffey, who had a game-high 100 yards on three catches.

"There was a lot of buildup for the game," Brooks coach Pat Foley said. "As much as you try to treat it like any other game, the kids know what's at stake. We kind of dug ourselves too big a hole early, but the kids responded. We just couldn't get much going on offense."