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Pentucket falls short to Generals

Saturday, September, 25 By David Willis
Staff writer

HAMILTON — Pentucket quarterback Mike Doud did his best to remain optimistic following the game.

“In the second half we started to click better,” said Doud. “We were finding holes and picking up quality yards. But it was just too late.”

The Sachems’ offense showed life after halftime, but ran out of time and Pentucket suffered its first loss of the season, 27-14 to Hamilton-Wenham yesterday afternoon.

“We did a little well here and there,” said Pentucket coach Steve Hayden. “But we need to be more physical and more confident. (Hamilton-Wenham) was very aggressive.”

The Sachems appeared to grab momentum late in the first half. They drove 74 yards on just six plays and Nolan Dragon punched it in from 3 yards out to tie the score 7-7 with 1:52 left before halftime. But the Generals struck back with a score just 1:23 later to take the lead for good.

Paul Treado led Pentucket, carrying eight times for 89 yards and the Sachems’ second score, a 10-yard plunge with 2:08 left in the contest. He added a 33-yard carry to set up their first touchdown.

Pentucket then seemed to recover an on-sides kick following the second score, but it was disallowed due to an illegal formation and the Generals recovered a second attempt. A 72-yard pass from Doud to Jeremy Krugh on the final play of the game was brought down at the 1-yard line.

Hamilton-Wenham used its running game to control the pace of play for much of the day, led by Elliott Burr (12 carries, 79 yards) and Trevor Lyons (17 carries, 60 yards).

When the Generals went to the air, quarterback Dylan Keith hurt the Sachems, completing 11 of 14 passes for 155 yards and a pair of scores to James Love (seven catches, 100 yards).

“They beat us up front,” said Hayden. “And when we did hold them at the line they made big plays with the passing game. We didn’t react well to the ball or put enough pressure on the quarterback.”

Back from a foot injury that limited him the past two weeks, Dragon led the Sachems with nine tackles, while Sean Brennan added eight tackles and Braedan Leach added six stops.

The Sachems travel to CAL rival Newburyport on Friday.

“They were a tough team,” said Doud. “We did all that we could, but it just wasn’t enough.”