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North Reading blows fourth-quarter lead

Sunday, October, 25 By Jeff Hamrick

HAMILTON — North Reading first squandered a 16-point, third-quarter lead then saw a possible game-tying drive crash at the 4-yard line with less than a minute remaining en route to a 24-16 defeat at Hamilton-Wenham yesterday afternoon.

It was a tale of two halves in a Cape Ann Small Conference affair that was postponed from Saturday afternoon earlier in the week by the threat of bad weather. The teams, which entered the game with a combined record of 1-10, totaled 35 yards in the first quarter and only 52 yards and three first downs the first 13 minutes.

"It was a sluggish first half to say the least," North Reading coach Jeff Wall said. "I think we came out flat. That killed us. If we had taken it to them earlier I think we would have been in good shape. There was just no intensity whatever."

The Hornets (1-6 overall, 1-2 conference) did find some momentum late in the opening half with a 64-yard drive that ended on downs at the Hamilton-Wenham 8. It wouldn't be the final time North Reading found itself in that field position. 

Bobby Rosano, who scored on a 44-yard run that put the Hornets ahead 16-0 with 2:36 left in the third quarter, put North Reading on the Hamilton 5-yard line with back-to-back runs of 19 and 32 yards on a drive that began with 2:12 remaining in the game. A 1-yard gain by Nicholas Rosano left the Hornets with a second-and-goal at the 4. Losses on the ensuing two plays left a fourth-and-goal at the 8 where Nicholas Rosano's last pass attempt fell incomplete with 39 seconds left.

After watching North Reading grab a two-touchdown advantage on touchdown runs by Bobby Rosano and Nicholas Rosano, who also threw for two conversions, Hamilton-Wenham completely turned things around with three touchdown drives of at least 62 yards. None of the scoring possessions took longer than 2 minutes, 19 seconds.

The Generals (1-5, 1-1)  did not have a play longer than nine yards the first 18 minutes, racked up pass completions of 45 yards that set up their first touchdown with 1 minute left in the third and 67 yards ona scoring pass that gave Hamilton the 24-16 lead with 2:12 left in the game. In between, Dan Beckett scored on a run of 54 yards, which accounted for nearly half of his team's 112 in the game.

The biggest challenge now facing North Reading is providing motivation the remainder of the season after such a difficult defeat.

"We're going to have to figure that out on the bus," Wall said. "I wish I knew. We have to keep fighting and learn from our mistakes. That's about all I can tell them."