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Hillies dominate Malden in shutout

MALDEN — Same players, same uniforms. But in the second half, Haverhill was a different team. After a season-opening first half that won’t make any highlight reel, the Hillies turned things around in the final 22 minutes. Behind the poised direction of senior captain Isiah Ocasio, the offense righted itself and played error-free football. And since Haverhill’s defense already had an injury-impacted Malden attack diffused, the Hillies took a 12-0 verdict at MacDonald Stadium.

Haverhill struggled in the early stages. An offside penalty turned a Golden Tornado punt into a first down, and another punt four plays later was fumbled and recovered by Malden’s Ernst Larochel at the Hillie 32-yard line. And after Haverhill’s first possession drove to the Malden 21, three penalties created a third-and-25 situation and led to an interception by David Console.

The only positive out of everything was that, thanks to a defensive effort that head coach Tim Briggs termed “stout,” the Hillies escaped with a scoreless tie at the break.

“We had a lot of adversity in the first half,” explained Briggs, “but we still held them, and that’s a good thing to see.”

Quality efforts from junior defensive lineman Markis Santiago (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 quarterback pressure) as well as senior ends Danny Triplett (3 tackles, 2 for negative yardage) and Alex Aguirre (4 tackles, 1 for lost yardage) shackled Malden to just 59 yards of total offense. The fumble recovery was the only time the Tornadoes spent in Hillie territory and they never truly threatened to score, struggling with the loss of starting quarterback Marcos Almeida to injury against Lawrence last week.

On the other hand, Haverhill found its speed behind Ocasio (10 carries, 106 yards) and halfback Noel Figuereo (18 carries, 124 yards despite battling leg cramps). The pair accounted for 139 yards in a third quarter that saw the Hillies score all their points.

“Speed’s a key every year,” Briggs said. “Speed kills. It’s all about getting them the ball and making plays.”

Receiving substantial holes via excellent blocking from center Ben Tufts and guards Aaron Bard and Angelo Souliotis, Haverhill came to life on a 54-yard ramble by Figuereo on a big third-and-10 carry. Three plays later, Figuereo ran 14 yards behind Kyle Sullivan and Evan Pare to the end zone 2 1/2 minutes into second half play.

After quickly forcing a Malden punt, Ocasio made a savvy third-down ball fake to Triplett that sucked in the linebackers and opened the left edge for the senior. Ocasio sprinted 61-yards with key help from Jeremiah Arriaga to wrap up the scoring with 4:07 left in the third quarter.

“If you had asked me last week at this time how our progress was, I would have had a different answer,” Briggs concluded. “But the guys came out and had a super week of practice, one of the best weeks since I’ve been here. They came out and made the decision to do things the right way, and when you practice at a hard pace, it makes a big difference.”