RallyNorth.net

Fri, Sep 29, 2017 07:00 PM @ North Andover

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Lawrence	0	0	0	0	0
North Andover	3	7	2	7	19

Big plays help North Andover down Lawrence, match 2016 win total

Friday, September, 29 By David Willis
Staff writer

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.

“I was a little bummed I didn’t get in on that fumble recovery,” Ogwuru said with a laugh. “But it was definitely a momentum shift in the game and set up a score. Hopefully I’ll get another shot at the end zone.”

With Lawrence at the North Andover 14-yard line looking to take the lead in the second quarter, Keegan Hardacre punched the ball loose and Ogwuru was right there to scoop up the fumble. He was run down 52 yards later, but that set up a Darren Watson touchdown, and the Scarlet Knights were rolling from there on the way to a 19-0 victory.
“This was a big win,” said North Andover QB Jake McElroy. “We were coming off a big win (over Tewksbury), and we wanted to show it wasn’t a fluke. We wanted to keep the momentum going.”
The Scarlet Knights improved to 4-0 with the win, matching their win total from a season ago (4-7).
“This feels great,” said Ogwuru. “It couldn’t be any better. I believed we could be here after all of our work. I expect nothing less. Now we want win No. 5.”
Each time Lawrence looked bound for the end zone on Friday, an opportunistic North Andover defense stepped up when it matter.
A possession after the Ogwuru fumble recovery, the Lancers drove to the Knights’ 12-yard line. But this time it was breakout star Gabe DeSouza, who picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it to the Lawrence 35-yard line.
The Lancers then advanced to the North Andover 5-yard line, but cornerback Jack Walsh knocked down passes on third and fourth down to force a turnover.
“We’re not going to win any style points with this one,” said Knights coach John Dubzinski. “But we played well enough to beat a tough team. Our defense made some big plays and our offense did enough.”
Ogwuru added a sack and six tackles to go with his fumble recovery and Andrew Carter chipped in with a pair of sacks. Watson led the Knights offense with 84 yards on 15 carries.
Lawrence debuted a new power-I offense, switching from their traditional spread. Sophomore Jacob Tamayo (172 passing yards) made his first career start at quarterback, while regular QB Ronny Pena moved to tailback.
“The new offense did pretty good,” said Lancers coach Mike Yameen. “We got into the red zone three times, but we didn’t score. That hurts. We did a good job on defense, but Watson is going to make plays no matter how good a job you do trapping him.”
The Scarlet Knights now hope to improve to 5-0 next Friday, when they welcome Billerica (2-2).
“This is huge,” said McElroy. “Last year was really tough struggling like that. To already match that win total is awesome.”