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Pentucket ends Wilmington rivalry with a win

Saturday, October, 23 By David Willis
Staff writer

WEST NEWBURY — Hours before the game, while eating his breakfast, Pentucket’s Nolan Dragon looked over at his father and told him he had a good feeling.

“I said, ‘I feel like we can win today,’” remembered Dragon. “It wasn’t a prediction, but we felt really confident that we could take this one.”

On fourth-and-1 at the Wilmington 42-yard-line, Dragon burst through the line for the first down with eight seconds left that clinched Pentucket’s 17-14 upset victory over undefeated Wilmington in a key Cape Ann League Large battle.

“I just wanted that first down so bad,” said Dragon. “It felt like it was close. I felt like I got the first down, then they pushed me back. But we got it and it was just amazing.”

It was an appropriate end to a rivalry that has seen plenty of dramatic finishes since the Sachems beat the Wildcats for the Cape Ann League title and  Super Bowl berth in 1999, with 10 of those contests decided by seven points or less. The two teams will not play in the foreseeable future, with Wilmington moving to the Middlesex League.

“I remember being small and watching great games between us and Wilmington,” said quarterback Mike Doud. “The kids all seemed so big, and I said, ‘I’m going to do that one day.’”

It took a play by a first-year football player to allow the Sachems to ice the clock.

Wilmington cut the lead to three points on a touchdown with 59 seconds left in the game, and lined up for an onside kick.

The ball bounced high into the air and into the hands of senior Dan Cashman, who took a brutal hit but was able to secure the ball as he was going to the ground.

“It’s so great,” said Cashman, who had not played football since the fourth grade heading into this season. “I had no idea I would ever be out here. But these guys really welcomed me into the team this season. I knew once the ball got in my hands that I wasn’t letting it go.”

The Wildcats opened in quick fashion, taking the opening kickoff and driving 63 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 advantage.

But Dragon shifted the momentum on his own in the second quarter. On his first carry of the game, the fullback rumbled 78 yards — hurdling a defender on his way to the end zone for a touchdown to tie the score.  

“Nolan’s long run was huge,” said Doud. “We were trailing and couldn’t get anything going. Then Nolan breaks the long one and that gave us a lot of confidence.”

Paul Treado then booted a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to make it 10-7, and Doud gave the Sachems a 17-7 advantage with 3:34 left in the third when he hit John Modlish on a beautiful 28-yard touchdown pass.

Meanwhile, the Sachem defense was locking down. After allowing the opening score, Pentucket forced four three-and-outs and twice ended Wildcats drives with turnovers, an interception by Doud and a fumble that was recovered by Dragon.

Dragon and Treado tied for the team-high with eight tackles each while Modlish added six stops and Tim Freiermuth and Kevin Dunn each had five tackles.

Wilmington managed the one final score, but the Sachems finished off the win with their final first down.

“This was awesome,” said Pentucket head coach Steve Hayden. “That’s probably it for us and Wilmington, so it was special for the kids to go out and do what they did.”

Dragon paced the offense, carrying 13 times for a career-high 125 yards. His previous best was 113 yards a season ago against Hamilton-Wenham.

“We knew that anything could happen,” said lineman Kevin Dunn. “We were by the goal posts before the game and I said to the guys, ‘Just play your hearts out today!’ We kept going and did what we needed to do. I can’t even describe how happy we are.”