RallyNorth.net

Pentucket dominates the second half, rallies for win

Saturday, October, 16 By David Willis
Staff writer

WEST NEWBURY — Following a lackluster first half, Mike Doud and the Pentucket defense knew something had to change.

“We were just too soft in the first half,” said Doud. “We were very passive and let (Amesbury quarterback) Tyler Lay pick us apart. We had to make a change, and we did just that.”

The Sachems rebounded to allow just 18 yards of total offense in the second half and pounded the ball with success on offense on the way to downing the Indians 17-10 on a very muddy, windy day.

“We told the kids (at halftime) that we just got punched in the mouth and we were still in the game,” said Pentucket coach Steve Hayden. “We made some adjustments defensively, and it worked much better in the second half. The kids did a great job.”

Amesbury found plenty of success in the first half, tallying 191 yards. Most of those were through the air, as Lay completed 9 of 13 passes for 138 yards as the Indians took a 10-0 lead.

But a few big plays by Sean Brennan began to turn the tide.

With 1:51 left in the second, Doud heaved up a pass that was tipped by a defender. But Brennan was there to snag the ball and scamper 54 yards for a touchdown. Then, four plays later, Brennan intercepted a pass and ran it back 43 yards to the Amesbury 11-yard line.

“Brennan’s interception before the half was when we really took momentum,” said Doud, who also had an interception. “We didn’t capitalize because of a fumble, but it was huge. We came out in the second half and we knew what we had to do. We changed our coverages a little, and we knew we could take charge.”

The Sachems dominated the final two quarters allowing the Indians just the 18 total yards, and not allowing Lay to complete a single pass on five attempts.

Finally looking healthy after being plagued by injuries, Dragon led the Sachems with 11 tackles, while Brennan added 10 key stops and Kevin Dunn broke through to tackle the punter for a safety.

“We needed to read out keys and be in the right places,” said Dragon. “The first half was rough, but we did that in the second half and that worked well.”

The Sachems also received a little luck to tally the winning score with 2:29 left in the third.

Tim Porter recovered a fumble at the Amesbury 20-yard line. Two plays later, the Sachems fumbled at the goal line, but receiver John Modlish was there to dive on the loose ball for a touchdown.

“I was just blocking,” said the senior. “The ball popped out, and no one was really there other than me. I just kind of got lucky. I was confident I could get it, and I jumped on it.”

Doud then hit Dragon for the two-point conversion on a fake extra point to complete the comeback.

Dragon finished with seven carries for 54 yards, all in the second half, while fellow fullback Jeremy Krugh added a team-best 56 yards on 10 carries.

“We pounded the ball very well,” said Doud. “On one play, Nolan carried about six defenders for 15 yards. It wasn’t the pretties win, but it was a win.”