SAVING THE SHUTOUT. Hornet Junior Nick Copelas (16) breaks up Pentucket’s attempt at a touchdown pass in the second quarter to preserve the 21–0 shut out for North Reading. Number 22 for the Hornets, David Smith, scored all three North Reading touchdowns. (Bob Turosz Photo)
By BOB TUROSZ
NORTH READING – They say revenge is a dish best served cold and that’s just the way the North Reading football squad served it up to the Pentucket Sachems last Friday night.
Playing Pentucket for the second time in 13 days under the MIAA’s non-playoff scheduling, the Hornets ran roughshod over the Sachems on a frigid night with a bitter wind, 21–0 at Arthur Kenney Field. The victory more than avenged the 16–0 shutout the Hornets suffered in West Newbury back on Oct. 25.
Hornet junior David Smith scored all three North Reading touchdowns, running for scores in the first, third and fourth quarters while Pentucket could do nothing substantive against the Hornet defense. If North Reading was interested in running up the score against their Cape Ann League rivals they could have tried to do so, since North Reading had the ball deep in Pentucket territory with less than a minute left in the game. But with the result long since determined, North Reading did the classy thing and took a knee on successive plays.
In a complete reversal of fortune from the game played in West Newbury, things started going wrong for the Sachems midway through the first quarter and they never seemed to recover.
Pentucket received the opening kickoff and drove to the North Reading 39 yard line before turning the ball over on a fumble with 7:50 left in the frame.
Two plays later, Smith went 49 yards through the defense to score his first touchdown of the night at 6:40 to make the score 6–0. Angelo DiSanto added the P.A.T. and the Hornets had a 7-0 lead.
Pentucket was forced to punt on their next series and North Reading got the ball back with 3:23 left in the first quarter. From there, Smith, who finished the night with 283 yards on 19 carries, took it up the right side all the way to the Pentucket 41 yard line. The Green and Gold mixed in a 14 yard gain by sophomore Matt McCarthy and advanced as far as the Pentucket 19 yard line but a holding penalty pushed them back to the Sachem 29 as the quarter ended.
GROUND GAME. Hornet sophomore Matt McCarthy gained 14 yards on this play as North Reading avenged its earlier season loss to Pentucket. (Bob Turosz Photo)
North Reading drove as far as their opponent’s 12 yard line but the drive stalled there and Pentucket took over on downs. McCarthy intercepted Pentucket quarterback Pat Freiermuth’s long desperation aerial with seconds left to stifle the visitors’ last drive and send to teams to the warmth of their locker rooms with North Reading nursing a 7-0 lead.
North Reading received the ball to start the second half and launched a long, clock-controlling drive that brought the ball to the Pentucket 9 yard line. From there, Smith brought it home with 6:14 left on the clock. DiSanto added the extra point and North Reading had a 14-0 lead.
The Hornets put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter, when Smith went 85 yards for the third score of the night. DiSanto, who was perfect on all three kicks, added the extra point and the Green and Gold had a 21–0 lead that ended up the final score.
The running Hornets did not attempt a pass all night, which was probably a wise thing given the strong northeast wind whipping through field on Park Street all night. Sachem quarterback Freiermuth, who was effective against North Reading in their first meeting, had only one completion for 35 yards in eight attempts, including the interception.
For the Hornets, McCarthy ran for 73 yards, John Merullo had 18, Tyler Currier chipped in 13, Cole Hughes added 5, Dean Arena had 8 and Nic O’Connell had 13.
After the game, Head Coach Jeff Wall agreed his team played with greater intensity than in their first meeting with Pentucket. “It helps they (Pentucket) gave us some bulletin board material (after the first game) talking about how they were better than us. I think it served as motivation for the kids, they were motivated to show them what they can come out and do.
“Plus, it was senior night, the last time at home these guys can come out together, it meant a lot to them,” Wall added.
The 4-5 Hornets will be aiming to improve to .500 when they take on the Newburyport Clippers Friday night, Nov. 14, in Newburyport. “That’s the next game for us, we’ve struggled with them in the past, (the Clippers beat the Hornets in a shootout, 45 to 33 back on Sept. 26) and then the season ends against the high flying, undefeated Lynnfield Pioneers on Thanksgiving Day.
But for right now, “this one feels good and we’ll give the kids some time off before we get after Newburyport,” said Wall.
“With all the things we’ve had go wrong – we’ve had a lot of adversity this year, beating Newburyport would mean a lot to these kids.”
The game was played on Senior Night and before the game the following members of the Class of 2014 were honored:
Cheerleaders: Captains Mikayla DiPlatzi, Lucy March and Mackenzie Sturdevant; Carly Sexton, Mia Gallo and Allyssa McDonough.
Marching Band: Nicholas Macneil.
Football Hornets: Captains Cole Hughes and Austin Bradley; Christian Jessop, Tyler Currier, Ryan DeGrande, Dean Arena, Gregory Kalogeropoulos, Nicholas Fortin, Kyle Sampson, John Krieger, Brendan Tilton and Michael Farrelly.
