THE SENIORS were honored before the football team’s game against Amesbury on Friday night. North Reading football’s Class of 2025 includes Lucas Do Val, Antonio Ricca, Christian Villarroel, David Tran, Tanner DuPriest, Andrew Taylor, Ryan Labb, James McLoughlin, James Fodera and Jason Puglia. (Eric Evans Photo)
After press time:
North Reading defeats Pentucket 31-12 (Oct. 25)
Published October 24, 2024
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
NORTH READING — After his decisive win over Essex Tech two weeks ago, North Reading Coach Ed Blum mentioned an upcoming clash with Amesbury several times during his post-game interview. Blum’s concern proved well-founded as his Cape Ann League nemesis paid a visit last Friday night and claimed a hard-fought 20-16 win, knocking the Hornets from the ranks of the undefeated.
North Reading has now suffered defeat in all five meetings with Amesbury since the two programs first convened in 2020. Four of the five losses during that span were by 4-points or less, including last season’s 40-38 overtime loss. Lynnfield may be North Reading’s top rival but Amesbury has clearly earned a red circle on the annual schedule.
“When you face a football team like that, it’s all about making one more play,” said Blum, who is now 5-1 overall. “On that drive in the third quarter, we forced them into several fourth down situations but we were unable to come up with that one play. Unfortunately, in this game, they just made more plays than we did.”
Blum was referring to a grueling possession in which Amesbury consumed all but 48-seconds of the third quarter, scoring what later proved the game-winning TD. In all, the Red Hawks, alternating three tailbacks, ran 20 more offensive plays than the Hornets.
The combatants traded scores in the opening frame starting with Amesbury capturing a 6-0 lead on a 13-yard sprint from DJ DiCarlo, the lone senior among the Red Hawk starters. North Reading soon moved ahead, polishing off a 72-yard, 6-play series with a pinpoint 13-yard TD pass from QB Jason Berry to top receiver Gavin Brady (6 for 102-yards). The key play on the drive featured a 43-yard screen pass to Otto Indelicato, who hauled in the toss and waited patiently for his blockers to open a path to the red zone.
The Hornets tried a little deception as the first frame came to an end with an onsides kick, hoping to catch Amesbury off-guard. The play backfired, however, landing the Red Hawks at midfield and 11-plays later, in the end zone on a 4-yard Joe Puleo TD rush. Lacking a place-kicker, Amesbury had no choice but to attempt 2-point conversions, failing on each.
Trailing 12-7, North Reading cobbled together a 13-play possession, reaching the Red Hawks’ 10. Berry, who was a respectable 13-of-22 for 183-yards, found Brady, Tanner DuPriest and Antonio Ricca for decent gains but the QB missed on three straight once inside the red zone. Xander Villarroel was deployed and successfully booted a 27-yard field goal to close the gap to 12-10 at the half.
THE HORNET defense, including the pictured Nick Torra and Ryan Labb, battled for four quarters against a tough Amesbury attack on Friday night at NRHS. (Eric Evans Photo)
Amesbury consumed nearly the entire third quarter with a punishing 90-yard, 15-play scoring drive to extend the lead to 20-10. The coaching staff gambled, successfully, with a rush attempt on 4th-and-1 from their own 19. The Red Hawks capped the series with a 6-yard toss to Ethan Kirby from QB Justin Dube, who threw only 4-passes on the night.
From bad to worse, North Reading fumbled away the ball on the ensuing kickoff. The exhausted Hornet defense, fresh off the marathon drive faced another 11-play march but held, fending off a threat and reclaiming possession. The offense obliged, led by Berry and Brady, who proved adept at sideline toe drags to preserve precious clock. Berry put the finishing touch on the 92-yard drive, finding Brady wide open for a 25-yard TD to the delight of the North Reading faithful huddled against the chill.
A missed PAT left North Reading in arrears, 20-16, eliminating the possibility of a game-tying field goal. Unfortunately, the Hornet offense never saw the field again. Amesbury claimed the onside kick with 2:50 remaining and worked the clock to perfection.
“Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t go your way,” said Blum. “For us, this was a great experience. There are plenty of teams in Division 6 who will try to do just this – try to run it down your throat and control the clock. I thought our team showed a lot of character and toughness that will carry forward as we turn the page to Pentucket.”
With three regular season games remaining, North Reading is 15th-ranked (pending tabulation of the Amesbury result) in a field of 30 teams in MIAA Division 6. The top-16 qualify for the postseason.
North Reading will travel for the next two, starting with a trip Friday evening to face the 2-4 Pentucket Panthers.
