Published March 25, 2021
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
IPSWICH — It was a valiant effort, but to no avail as the North Reading Hornets football team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 28-14 to an opportunistic Ipswich club.
The host Ipswich Tigers, coming off a season-opening 17-14 win over Amesbury, seized the momentum on the final play of the first half, scoring on a pick-6 to claim a 14-7 lead. The Tigers made it stand up despite a courageous second half effort by what could only be described as the All-Hospital team.
North Reading lost the services of three key players in the first half, including senior tailback Will O’Leary, who led the Hornets with four rushing TDs a week earlier in the opener. Perhaps the individual who deserved the most credit during this game was North Reading trainer Rachel Hanna, who somehow held this team together with “Band-Aids and bubble gum,” to borrow an old adage.
“We did suffer a lot of injuries, including a number of key offensive guys,” said North Reading coach Ed Blum, who evened on the season at 1-1. “Other guys stepped up and tried to make things happen. They gave it their all but unfortunately, we were on the short end of it.”
Hanna, to her credit, managed to patch together senior tailback Jack Donohue after he sustained a shoulder injury. He returned to action, freshly taped, and led the North Reading ground game with 93 yards on 23 carries and a score early in the fourth quarter to keep his team in rally range.
“Jack hurt his shoulder but he was good enough to go back out there,” said Blum. “He was running well between the tackles and running outside. We tip our hat to number 6. He ran hard and I’m glad he did because I’m not quite sure how many kids I had left to replace him.”
On a picture-perfect first day of spring, Ipswich won the toss and deferred. On the initial play from scrimmage, senior QB Brian Heffernan looked sharp, finding wideout Ryan McCullough for 15 yards to midfield. But then the series went south in a hurry, with an incomplete, negative yardage on O’Leary’s first rush and lastly, a pickoff. Ipswich capitalized on the takeaway with steady doses of tailback Cole Terry and a Chase Huntley 1-yarder for the lead.
North Reading followed with a grinding 10-play drive that reached the red zone on back-to-back 12-yard receptions by John Jennings and Robbie Tammaro, along with a 15-yard Ipswich penalty, but later fell short. Early in the series, O’Leary was sidelined and the Hornets struggled to get on track, eventually turning the ball over on downs.
Nearing the end of the first quarter, Ipswich QB Aiden Arnold collided with Terry in the backfield, coughing up the ball on his own 2-yard-line. Jennings recovered to give the Hornets new life and they obliged, with a 1-yard TD plunge from freshman tailback Will Batten. In the midst of the brief scoring series, however, McCullough sustained an injury and was sidelined for the remainder of the game. Batten was also banged-up and did not return.
As the injuries piled up, even the officials weren’t immune, it seemed, as one of their own was knocked out of commission with an ankle.
Late in the half, after a punt pinned the Tigers deep in their zone, the Hornet defense did a tremendous job limiting Terry and forcing a punt the other way. North Reading regained the ball with a short field, but with no time outs and only 40 seconds at their disposal, was forced to hurry the offense. Unfortunately, a rushed Heffernan lateral toss landed in the hands of Tiger Charlie Henderson, who enjoyed 52 yards of daylight and handed his club a 14-7 halftime lead.
The Tigers made an uphill climb even steeper with a score after the break. Huntley broke one for 42 yards to start them and David Lonergan capped the quick strike offense with an 8-yard TD.
“We knew this was going to be a grinding type of game,” said Blum. “Ipswich is a senior-heavy team and they have some tough kids up front. You have to tip your hat to them and what they did out there.”
Trailing 21-7, Tammaro gave his team another life, pouncing on a fumble. The Hornets ultimately converted the takeaway, marching 57 yards on a dozen plays. Bandaged shoulder and all, Donohue received the lion’s share of the handoffs and fitting, polished off the series with a 10-yard TD rumble. Noteworthy was Heffernan, who shook off earlier troubles and kept the drive alive with a pair of fourth down throws to Tammaro and Jennings, respectively.
Down by a score, North Reading got the ball back with 10 minutes left and a full slate of timeouts. But the Tiger defense stonewalled the rally effort, limiting their opponent to only 16 yards on seven plays. Ipswich reclaimed the ball on downs and poured salt in the wound with a Huntley 65-yard TD to wrap it up.
“Until they busted that play, I really thought we were going to get the ball and score and would’ve gone for two points and the win,” explained Blum, who next hosts Hamilton on Saturday. “You always have to believe you have a chance and I’m proud of the kids because I felt that same belief from them, as well.”
