North Andover’s Watson makes winning top priority
Scanning the snowy turf at Walsh Stadium, the finality of Darren Watson’s stellar four-year run with the North Andover Scarlet Knights was palpable.
“It’s definitely sinking in,” Watson reflected as he watched members of the undefeated Knights take turns diving headlong in the snow before practice. “I just love football, and I love this team.”
Snow angels aside, Watson will be the first to tell you there’s plenty to do before he reluctantly hands in his well-worn black and red helmet. The two-way standout will lead the 10-0 Div. 2 North champs into Andover tomorrow morning, then it’s onto Gillette Stadium eight days later against King Philip in the Super Bowl.
“I have been dreaming about this moment since I was little,” Watson said. “Now I just need to fulfill that dream and get the win.”
Perhaps it’s that last sentiment that will ultimately define Watson’s eventful time in North Andover in coach John Dubzinski’s mind, more than all the highlight-reel runs and acrobatic receptions and interceptions.
A workhorse tailback who gained more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore on a 4-7 club, Watson selflessly has stepped out of the spotlight to become a key cog in a multi-faceted attack that has seen the Knights go 19-2 the past two years.
This season, when starting tailback J.D. Allen went down in the Knights’ big win against Central Catholic, everyone in North Andover and beyond assumed that the elusive Watson would take a lead role. Instead, it was Watson who lobbied for teammate Freddy Gabin. After running for 160 yards and two touchodwns against mighty Tewksbury, the fleetfooted Gabin has become a fixture at tailback.
“It’s refreshing to see because you don’t see that a lot, and you win with guys like that,” Dubzinski said. The coach also knew that by keeping Watson in the slot, with the dangerous Gabe DeSouza out wide and Gabin and Allen in the backfield behind one of the state’s top quarterbacks in Jake McElroy, he could keep many defensive coordinators up late at night.
“If he has two touches, and we win the game by 35 points, he’s the one going crazy.”
And perhaps no one in the state can make more out of a handful touches. In the Knights’ 42-0 rout of Lincoln-Sudbury in the Div. 2 North final, Watson took the first handoff of the game 61 yards, broke a screen pass 51 yards for a touchdown, and nearly broke loose for a second score after a 53-yard hookup with McElroy. Three touches, 165 yards and a score.
“He’s been a real special player for us for four years, and in my opinion, he’s one of the best players in the state,” said Dubzinski, who thinks the 5-foot-11, 180pound Watson could play at the FCS level after a postgraduate year.
“His balance is unbelievable. He puts his foot in the ground and changes direction so well.”
The sight of the shifty Watson leaving would-be tacklers in his wake has been commonplace in North Andover since Watson first strapped on the shoulder pads for the Knights A team as a sixth grader.
“I just loved it as soon as I touched the ball, and honestly, I liked the contact,” Watson said. “I’m a contact guy.”
Defensively, Watson (three interceptions) has been one of the cornerstones of a unit that allowed less than 12 points per contest in the regular season and just 14 total points in three playoff games.
“I think our defense has to be one of the best in the state,” said Watson, who predictably grades the unit on wins alone.
“I really don’t care about the stats,” the affable captain added before rejoining the snowy scrum on the practice field. “I just want our team to win and get to the goal we are chasing.”