RallyNorth.net

Fri, Oct 20, 2017 07:00 PM @ Chelmsford

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
North Andover	7	14	7	7	35
Chelmsford	0	7	6	7	20

North Andover, Chelmsford

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.

“Our team is starting to click now and it’s looking pretty good for us,” said junior tight end Ryan Slattery. “But we just need to keep working hard and keep everything going.”

It was certainly looking good Friday night when Slattery helped North Andover take down Chelmsford, 35-20, in what is looking like a playoff preview for next week

Now riding back-to-back wins, North Andover (6-1) looks to be in postseason form.

“I thought our kids did a good job coming in here on their senior night,” said North Andover coach John Dubzinski. “It wasn’t perfect. There were some lapses in execution that if we play deep into the playoffs it’s going to cost us.

“There are some things that we did great that we need to reinforce, and there are plenty of things we need to get better at.”

With playmakers Darren Watson and Gabe DeSouza seeing a lot of double-coverage, the ball found its way to an open Slattery who made the most of his opportunities. He caught three passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, twice making clutch receptions on third down to move the chains. 

With the game tied at 7-7, quarterback Jake McElroy (8 for 15 for 234 yards, 4 total TD’s) found Slattery down the seam for a 27-yard connection to put the Knights ahead for good.

After DeSouza came up with an interception on Chelmsford’s ensuing drive, North Andover drove 92 yards on five plays capped by a Watson 2-yard TD run. The momentum-swinging score gave the Knights a 21-7 lead at halftime.

“I just read his eyes and as soon as I saw the ball go up I know it’s anyone’s ball,” said DeSouza on his INT. “I did what I had to do to go up and take that for us. It was huge.”

DeSouza still had a productive day with 94 yards on four receptions and a TD. He also had his interception, made all five extra points and even threw a 27-yard pass to Freddy Gabin. Watson was bottled up early, but eventually wore down the defense for 85 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.

For Chelmsford (3-4), EMass. Division 2 scoring leader Sal Lupoli (66 points, 11 TD’s) looked the part, rushing for 165 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns.

Defensively for North Andover, linemen Sean Percival and Joseph Roffer were disruptive, and linebacker Slattery came up to lay some big hits.

It was all smiles after the game for North Andover, but the Knights know that the regular season is in the past.

From here on out, it’s do or die time.

“Football is 44 minutes long. You can’t play for 41, 42 or 43 minutes. You have to play all 44 to win the game,” said DeSouza. “So we try our best to keep everyone’s heads in the game, especially now heading into the playoffs.”

 

North Andover 35, Chelmsford 20

North Andover (6-1):     7 14 7 7 — 35

Chelmsford (3-4):     0  7 6 7 — 20

First Quarter

NA — Jake McElroy 1 run (Gabe DeSouza kick), 6:50

Second Quarter

C — Sal Lupoli 12 run (Kevin Hennessey kick), 7:15

NA — Ryan Slattery 27 pass from McElroy (DeSouza kick), 5:30

NA — Darren Watson 2 run (DeSouza kick), :21

Third Quarter

NA — DeSouza 26 pass from McElroy (DeSouza kick), 5:35

C — Lupoli 5 run (kick blocked), :05

Fourth Quarter

NA — McElroy 19 run (DeSouza kick), 8:40

C — Peter McCarthy 20 pass from Matt Hooton (Hennessey kick), 4:00

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: North Andover (27-169): Darren Watson 14-85, Jake McElroy 10-80, Freddy Gabin 3-4; Chelmsford (29-166): Sal Lupoli 21-165, Matt Hooton 3-4, Michael Vecchione 5-(-3)

PASSING: NA — McElroy 8-15-0, 234, DeSouza 1-1-0, 27; C — Hooton 12-19-1, 110

RECEIVING: NA — Gabe DeSouza 4-94; Ryan Slattery 3-92, Watson 1-48, Gabin 1-27; C — Peter McCarthy 4-52, Lupoli 2-34, Brian Mitchell 2-14, Eric LeFebvre 1-6, Joseph Vecchione 3-4