Colonials hold off Arlington

Acton, Mass. -

The Arlington High football team did not throw the ball often in Friday’s game against Acton-Boxborough.
But when the Spy Ponders did throw the ball, the Colonials were ready for it.
A-B defenders picked off four Arlington passes, putting an end to potential scoring drives and setting up both of the Colonials’ touchdowns in a 14-7 victory at Leary Field.

“We had a good read on their quarterback [Alexander Maurice] and we reacted,” said A-B defensive back Austin Laymance, who had two interceptions, including the one that set up Akeem Mercury’s game-winning 3-yard touchdown run that was scored with 4:25 left in the game. “We did a good job getting pressure on them and that set up the interceptions. Our coaches tell us to look for the pass first, then react.”

While Maurice only completed one of the seven passes he threw (an 18-yarder to Daniel O’Loughlin that set up Maurice’s 1-yard quarterback sneak for the Spy Ponders’ lone touchdown with 29.8 seconds left in the first half), Arlington moved the ball well all night, rushing for 261 yards on 51 carries and running 58 plays from scrimmage to A-B’s 32.

Running mostly between the tackles, Arlington’s Matt Willey gained 154 yards on 29 carries. Patrick Cronin picked up 58 yards on 11 attempts and Maurice gained 44 yards on 11 rushes.
“I was proud of the way we fought,” said Arlington coach Dan Hirsch, whose team is now 3-3. “We have confidence in our running game. We just made a few mistakes.”

On the game’s opening series, Arlington moved the ball from its own 7 to the A-B 23 on 17 plays. The threat ended when A-B’s Kyle Curry picked off a pass from Maurice at the 9-yard line and returned it 47 yards to the Arlington 44 with 1:17 left in the first quarter. Seven plays later, Trevor Jeanson (11 carries, 93 yards) scored on a 7-yard run with 9:46 left in the second quarter. Miles Kula’s kick made it 7-0.

Arlington’s scoring drive began on its own 19 with 4:40 left in the first half. The 14-play drive ended with Maurice’s quarterback sneak, two plays after he rolled out to the left and hit O’Loughlin at the Colonials’ 2-yard line. Zachary Lee’s kick tied the game at 7 just before halftime.
“They played great,” said A-B coach Bill Maver, whose team is now 5-1. “We got it done, but we have to play better.”

On the opening series of the second half, A-B’s drive stalled at midfield, Arlington put together another long drive that took the ball to the A-B 27 before Laymance came up with his first interception with 22.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

A-B ended up punting on its next possession, but four plays into Arlington’s next series, Laymance came up with another pick, giving the Colonials the ball at the Spy Ponders’ 45 with 5:05 left in regulation.
On the first play, Jeanson gained 33-yards to the Arlington 12, but a facemask penalty moved the ball to the 6. Two plays later, Mercury scored on a 2-yard run to the left.

On the next series, Arlington moved the ball to the Colonials’ 20 on 10 plays. On fourth-and-12, Maurice threw the ball to Willey in the middle of the end zone, but Curry broke up the play, giving A-B the ball with 1:38 left.
On the third play of the drive, Arlington recovered a fumble at the A-B 25 with 39 seconds left to play. Maurice gained 5-yards around the left end on the first play, then threw the ball into the end zone. Jeanson came up with the interception and took a knee, giving the Colonials the ball at the 20 where they ran out the remaining 14.6 seconds.

A-B breaks it open

WAYLAND -- The Acton-Boxboro High football team's running game broke five plays of 25 yards or longer as the Colonials ran over the host Wayland Warriors, 33-6, in a Dual County League clash last night.
Trevor Jeanson, who broke runs of 31 and 76 yards in the first half, scored twice for the Colonials (4-1) to boost his season point total to 60. He finished with 144 yards on 11 carries and 2 touchdowns.

Akeem Mercury added a 30-yarder and 25-yarder -- his fourth and fifth TDs of the fall -- and finished with 57 yards on 6 carries. Alex DiBartolomeo had the other big run, a 45-yarder, that sparked A-B on an 81-yard drive at the end of the first half. DiBartolomeo finished that drive off himself with a 15-yarder up the middle for a 26-0 halftime lead. Max Tejada had 2 interceptions for the Colonial defense, which extended its scoreless streak to 6 quarters before Wayland scored in the third.
The Acton-Boxboro offensive line paved the way for 363 rushing yards on 43 carries for the Colonials as 14 different players carried the ball.
Ruggiero added 2 sacks for the A-B defense.

A-B defense stands tall

ACTON -- The Acton-Boxboro defense forced two turnovers and shut down the Concord-Carlisle passing attack as the Colonials recorded their first shutout of the season. The defense, combined with an offense that kept the ball for most of the first half on two long drives, gave A-B the 19-0 win to raise its record to 3-1. Concord-Carlisle is 2-2. Senior Trevor Jeanson led the Colonials with 99 yards rushing on 22 carries and one touchdown. A-B took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in 16 plays, keeping the ball for just over eight minutes. The Colonials didn't pass on the drive and converted one fourth-and-two when Jeanson ran for eight yards and a first down at the A-B 42-yard line.

Senior Akeem Mercury, who had the other big run on the drive (a 7-yard run on third-and-2 from the C-C 22), scored the touchdown on a two-yard run to give A-B a 6-0 lead with 2:39 to play in the quarter. The extra point pass failed. Mercury finished with 40 yards rushing on 10 carries. Concord-Carlisle tried to answer with a drive of its own but after moving to the A-B 23-yard line, the Colonials forced a fumble that Ben Fitzer recovered on the A-B 31. From there, the Colonials put on another long drive, this one 69 yards in 12 plays and running 6:33 off the clock. Senior Alex Kastrinelis completed three passes on the drive -- 19 to Alex DiBartolomeo, seven to Kyle Curry and 21 to Jack Souza. Kastrinelis got the TD on a quarterback sneak. The other key play on the drive was a 12-yard run by Jeanson on fourth-and-one from the C-C 13. The two-point conversion pass failed and A-B led 12-0 at the half.

Junior PJ Belanger sparked the Colonials in the third quarter when he returned an interception 39 yards to the Concord-Carlisle one-yard line. Dan D'Arcy's pass was tipped by sophomore Wes Schroll before Belanger picked it off. Jeanson got the TD with 48 seconds left in the quarter. Concord-Carlisle threatened to start the fourth and had a first-and-goal at the A-B 7-yard line but a pair of false starts and a sack by Mercury stopped the drive.

Both schools are in the Dual County League but the DCL is split into large and small school divisions. A-B is in the large and C-C in the small. The game will count as a non-league game.