Tewksbury wins 13th straight in rivalry
Redmen quiet Wilmington crowd with 29-19 victory
WILMINGTON >> You could hear a pin drop at Alumni Field on Thursday morning.
Originally filled with excitement heading into the 90th installment of the annual Tewksbury vs. Wilmington Thanksgiving Day clash, the stadium went silent as Tewksbury (8-4) halted Wilmington’s (5-6) second-half comeback to cruise to a 29-19 victory in the team’s 13th straight win on Turkey Day.
“A lot needs to be said about how hard that is for these guys,” said Redmen head coach Brian Aylward on continuing the streak.
“The pressure mounts any time you have a long streak. I asked them if they ever saw a movie about a team that is fighting to maintain a streak, and there isn’t one. It’s always about the team that breaks the streak.”
The Wildcats didn’t break the streak on Thursday. Tewksbury’s Hunter Johnson scored two touchdowns as the Redmen used their run game to sprint to the finish line to keep the Thanksgiving Day trophy in Tewksbury.
Johnson (82 rushing yards) joined Emeka Olu (36 rushing yards, TD) and Manny Mengata (6 rushing yards, TD) in total domination on the ground. While Johnson was battling an injury,
Aylward utilized a plethora of running backs on Thursday.
“He showed some signs of his old self, but he still wasn’t what he gave us midway through the season and through the playoff rounds,” he said of Johnson. “But those other guys were hungry and ready. Manny Mengata, I can’t say enough about him. He might be the most hurt guy we got. He fought his way through that all week long and was going to come out here and not be denied.”
Tewksbury didn’t waste any time finding the end zone, converting a 2-yard score from Johnson just four minutes into the opening quarter on a drive that
consisted of seven straight run plays. However, Wilmington responded with a successful drive of its own. Also establishing a strong run game, lead back Dempsey Murphy (71 rushing yards, 2 TD’S) was a force to be reckoned with in the Wildcat backfield. After numerous gains in the game’s second drive, he scored his first touchdown
of the morning on a punch in at the goal line at the 1:10 mark to knot the game.
The Redmen went right back to the ground, as Olu ran a 12-yard run to the end zone to put Tewksbury back in front heading into the half. After a pair of punts to start the third quarter, the Wildcats turned to Murphy, who shot up the middle on an electric 36-yard touchdown run. A missed extra point attempt had the Wildcats trailing by a point.
While Tewksbury quarterback Vincent Ciancio
(2-5 passing) only threw for 38 yards, he delivered a 38yard seed to Cam Kearney early in the fourth quarter to set up a Mengata touchdown run at the goal line to establish a 22-13 lead. From there, Wilmington committed three straight turnovers as time started to run out.
“Great senior group, they gave us everything they had today,” said WHS head coach Craig Turner after the loss. “They grinded and played their tails off. (Tewksbury) just had a little more in the tank than we did. I thought
our kids played extremely tough and physical, and that’s what you got to do against those guys.”
With 3:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, Johnson iced the game with a 24yard touchdown sprint to put Tewksbury ahead 29-13.
“I give those kids a lot of credit, they came out ready to go and I think they believed and fought hard,” Alyward said of the Wildcats. “There’s a lot of good players in Wilmington who come out and spill their guts, but we have the same
tradition. For kids on both sides, it’s about representing your town on the biggest day that connects both communities.”
As time expired, Wilmington delivered one final score when Michael Lawler (4-for-12 passing, 76 passing yards, 42 rushing yards) found Christian Febbo near the right pylon for a 10-yard score.
“We were in the game and we had our chances, so I’m proud of the kids for their effort,” concluded Turner.