RallyNorth.net

Fri, Nov 09, 2018 07:00 PM @ Reading

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Methuen	8	14	7	0	29
Reading	7	6	13	0	26

Bryant (3 TDs) dazzles as Methuen tops talented Reading

Friday, November, 09 By Kyle Gaudette

READING - As the rain fell harder and harder Friday night, Connor Bryant only got stronger and stronger.

Methuen's senior quarterback was the offense for the Rangers in the tough non-league matchup with stalwart Reading - the 2016 Division 1A Super Bowl runner-up.

Bryant threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 121 yards and another score, as Methuen held on late for a 29-26 win. The Rangers (7-3) had 285 yards of total offense. Bryant had 274 of them.

"Listen he's awesome," said Methuen coach Tom Ryan. "He's had a great season. Talk about statistics, he's probably going to have the best statistics as a quarterback in the Merrimack Valley Large, that's for sure. We go as he goes. If he plays well, we win."

As the Rangers tried to run out the clock, they turned to Bryant. The senior got his named called on the final six plays, and picked up a key first down to help the Rangers close out another win. Reading (7-3) got the ball back with one second left at its own 27-yard-line, but a series of laterals never got past the line of scrimmage.

Led by Sam Ferullo and Chad Roa up front, the Methuen defense came up with the stops it needed down the stretch. Reading, which lost to Lincoln-Sudbury in the Division 2 North semifinals last week, did play its final two drives without starting quarterback Matt Sannella, who suffered an apparent ankle injury late in the fourth quarter.

Methuen struck first when Ricky Brutus burst up the middle for a 15-yard score four plays into the game, and the Rangers led 8-7 after a conversion. Reading took a 13-8 lead after a Sannella touchdown pass and run, but on the first play of the ensuing drive Bryant broke away for a 71-yard TD to put Methuen ahead for good.

The Rangers took a 22-13 lead into the break after Bryant hit Wesley Correa on a 30-yard strike. Then after a Reading score to start the third, Bryant connected with Matthew Martino on a 7-yard TD to make it 29-19. Sannella threw hit third touchdown pass - all of which went to 6-foot-2 senior Javon Nortelus - to make it a 29-26 game late in the third, but the two teams traded stops on defense the rest of the way.

"That game was the epitome of what we do all year," said Ryan. "We shoot ourselves in the foot repeatedly, then we make an awesome play. ... Our offensive coordinator Ryan Dugan is second-to-none across the state, and we win games because he knows what he's doing."

It was still a good win for the Rangers, who wrap up their season on Thanksgiving hosting rival Dracut.

The Middies stunned the Rangers last Thanksgiving, earning a 39-31 upset win.

"Dracut is real good," said Ryan. "We owe them from last year."

 

 

Methuen 29, Reading 26

Methuen (7-3):     8 14  7 0 - 29

Reading (7-3):     7  6 13 0 - 26

First Quarter

M - Ricky Brutus 15 run (Nic Mathieu pass to Matthew Martino), 9:20

R - Javon Nortelus 48 pass from Matt Sannella (Luke Forbes kick), 1:55

Second Quarter

R - Matt Sanella 3 run (run failed), 6:37

M - Connor Bryant 71 run (Justin Sheehan kick), 6:11

M - Wesley Correa 30 pass from Connor Bryant (Justin Sheehan kick), :23

Third Quarter

R - Javon Nortelus 24 pass from Matt Sannella (kick failed), 8:31

M - Matthew Martino 7 pass from Connor Bryant (Justin Sheehan kick), 4:15

R - Javon Nortelus 14 pass from Matt Sannella (Luke Forbes kick), 1:04

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: METHUEN (34-132): Connor Bryant 23-121, Ricky Brutus 8-10, Kareem Coleman 2-3, Caleb Adames 1-(-2); READING (28-125): Domenic Masucci 8-55,Jymel Nortelus 4-48, Vito Laurenza 7-20, John DiMare 3-5, Matt Sannella 4-2, Dan DiMare 2-(-4)

PASSING: M - Connor Bryant 8-11-0, 153; R - Matt Sannella 7-17-2, 152, Dan DiMare 0-1-0, 0

RECEIVING: M - Kareem Coleman 2-61, Isaac Frederique 2-38, Wesley Correa 1-30, Ricky Brutus 2-17, Matthew Martino 1-7; R - Javon Nortelus 5-144, John DiMare 2-8