Gridmen’s wild 4th-quarter comeback falls just short against Pentucket

Published in the October 11, 2018 edition

By ANDREW MOUNTER

NORTH READING — The North Reading High School football team at home last Friday night, looked like a lost team as they trailed 28-0 to the Pentucket Sachems.

Suddenly, early in the fourth quarter, the Hornets almost made a Tom Brady-like comeback, as they proceeded to get the ball back on consecutive on-side kick attempts and three touchdowns to get within five points, 28-23. The comeback however fell just short as they had the ball the last play of the game but a Sachem defender intercepted the pass with no time left to put the win away.

“Crazy ending. The kids never stopped fighting,” said first-year North Reading head coach, Ed Blum. “That was a crazy game. Pentucket is a tough team and just a tough one to lose.”

The start was not so hot for the Green and Gold, as they got the ball to begin the game and they did not take advantage as they were three plays and done. Pentucket’s first drive was a little more successful, despite a 15-yard personal foul enforced upon them, they took 14 plays and almost six minutes of gameplay to get the first touchdown of the game, on tailback Andrew Melone’s 1-yard run. Daniel Lathum’s extra-point was good, to give the Sachems a 7-0 lead.

WILL O’LEARY led a furious Hornet comeback attempt with two fourth-quarter touchdowns against Pentucket. It was the second consecutive two-touchdown game for the sophomore running back. (Bob Currier Photo)

Pentucket then made it 14-0 on their very next drive via a halfback option as Melone would find Peter Cleary in the back of the end zone, uncovered. Lathum again kicked the ball through the goalposts for the extra-point.

The Hornet offense struggled to get anything going in the first half as the deepest they could get was the Pentucket 30-yard line. The last two drives of the half resulted in turnovers on downs.

The third quarter was much of the same, as Pentucket got two touchdowns in the period, with Dylan O’Rourke and Melone (for the hat trick) each scoring rushing touchdowns to increase their big lead to 28-0.

Because they fell behind by so much, the Hornet offense abandoned the run and stuck to the passing game and because of that, senior quarterback Matt Solecki threw more passes then any other Hornet QB in over 10 years as he would end up going 23-for-38, with 283 yards.

That passing helped set up the first score of the game coming with 4:14 left as Solecki matched down the field, with two passing plays over 20 yards on the drive, including a 24-yard play to Ryan Kavanaugh to get to the Sachem 8-yard line. From there, Will O’Leary would rush for the 8-yard score and also grab the two-point conversion.

Kavanaugh had a great game on both sides of the ball, snagging 7 catches for 99 yards and making some key stops as well as an interception on defense.

The Hornets would then get the ball back on the onside kick. Senior captain Alex D’Ambrosio helped set up the second Hornet touchdown, this time Solecki finding O’Leary for a 12-yard score. D’Ambrosio then kicked the extra-point making the game 28-15 Pentucket.

North Reading would recover their second straight onside kick as senior Mike Mikula got the ball amongst a crowd of Sachems and Hornets. In 10 plays, they quickly went up the field and Solecki found junior Jack Keller in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. Keller would get a direct snap and crossed the goal line for another two-point conversion to make the game a 5-point game within a space of three and a half minutes.

“Special teams credit goes to our special teams coordinator, Eric Archambault,” said Blum on why the two onside kicks were successful. “We put in the time and effort each practice. We want to win that phase of the game and here it gave us a chance to win.”

The third onside kick unfortunately went to the arms of a waiting Sachem appearing to derail the Hornet comeback train, but when Melone tried to go for a first down to ice the game for his team, he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Kavanaugh, giving the ball back to the Hornets at the Sachem 39 yard-line with only 20 seconds left in the game.

The Hornets could only get two plays in that limited time and the last play was intercepted in the end zone to seal the win for Pentucket.

It was a valiant effort by North Reading to get back in a game that was most certainly out of reach.

The Hornets are now 3-2 on the season and 1-2 in the Cape Ann League. North Reading will be traveling tomorrow night to Boxford, to take on the Masconomet Chieftains. It has been a controversial season for the Masco football team as they had to forfeit their game against Pentucket two weeks ago because of player conduct. The kickoff is at 7 p.m.