Redmen defense envelops Eagles
One week after allowing 31 points in a victory, Tewksbury’s defense led the way last night.
Quarterback Jay Connolly accounted for a pair of second-half touchdowns while the defense surrendered just 64 total yards as the Redmen picked up a 12-0 nonleague win over BC High at James Cotter Field.
The Redmen (3-0) never allowed the Eagles to move inside the 40-yard line. BC High finished with just three first downs and ran six plays in Tewksbury territory.
“Our defense definitely stepped up. We were tough and physical all night long,” said Tewksbury linebacker John Kelly. “You didn’t have to make a tackle to be in on the play, you just had to do your job. We all did.”
The two sides went into the half scoreless with just 140 total yards of offense combined.
Tewksbury finally opened the scoring late in the third quarter thanks to some trickery. On third-and-4, running back Shane Aylward (10 carries, 112 yards) received the toss and threw a 30-yard halfback pass to Kelly to set the Redmen up inside the red zone.
Four plays later, on fourth-and-5, Connolly found a wide-open Kyle Zervas for a 12-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead.
The Redmen continued their stout defensive play from the first half. BC High (1-2) set up at the Tewksbury 46-yard line to begin the fourth quarter, but only managed a single yard before being forced to punt.
“We had struggles last week tackling,” said Tewksbury coach Brian Aylward. “We were banged up this week, but we focused on just tackling. The kids executed. We were able to take away what they wanted to do.”
Tewksbury put the game out of reach on its next possession. The Redmen used eight plays to go 88 yards, highlighted by a 17-yard run from Aylward, before Connolly scored on a 1-yard keeper to increase Tewksbury’s lead to 12-0.
Both teams struggled to generate any momentum on offense in the first half.
The best chance for either team came late in the second quarter when the Redmen went on a 10-play drive, highlighted by a 17-yard run by Aylward, that landed them inside the BC High 20. On third down from the 18, however, Eagles defensive tackle Keith Henderson forced a fumble that was recovered by Brendan King, keeping the game scoreless.