Duxbury continues reign on Hingham
Good or bad, luck wasn’t a part of this one.
With a driving, sideways rain from start to finish, Dux
bury toppled Hingham, 21-6 last night to remain unbeaten and capture the Division 3 South title.
The win was the Green Dragons’ 13th consecutive over the Harbormen dating back to 2007 as quarterback John Roberts left nothing to doubt.
Roberts had a hand in all three Duxbury touchdowns with two passing scores along with a 6-yard scamper on the first series of the game. The 6-foot-1 senior captain finished with 180 yards of total offense with 89 yards on the ground and 91 yards with two touchdowns through the air.
“That’s our offense. Everything goes through John and our offense goes through the offensive line and John,” Duxbury coach Dave Maimaron . “The O-line played great.”
Duxbury (10-0) looked dominant in taking a 14-0 lead as Roberts hit Ryan Prudente with a floater over the defensive line for an 8-yard score before the half. But Hingham (7-2) was knocking on the doorstep on the next series inside two minutes left in the first half. Cole Finney hauled in a 43-yard pass from Jack Johnson, who returned under center for the first time since Week 2 after a broken collarbone, to give the Harbormen firstand-goal from the 9 with 1:43 left.
But a batted ball at the line of scrimmage from Garrett Shackett along with excellent defensive coverage in the end zone for Duxbury led to a turnover on downs as the Hingham offense stalled.
“Jack was right on the money and he was able to do some stuff for us but (Duxbury is) a good team. We had to get back to the drawing board at halftime and make adjustments but just too little too late in the end,” firstyear Hingham coach Jim Connor said. “It’s the little plays and all of a sudden if we score before half, we are in a 14-13 or 14-all game but we didn’ t get what we needed early to have the opportunity at the end .”
Hingham ate up almost eight minutes of play with a 13-play drive on its second series of the second half as Grady Harrington went in untouched on a great fake handoff counter sweep to get within one score, 14-6.
But Roberts answered again, this time with a clockkilling 12-play drive which ended with Will Prouty scoring on a five-yard wheel route pass for the final score of the game with 4:31 left in regulation.
Duxbury moves on to the state semifinals to face either Danvers or Tewksbury.
“Our defensive coaches did an unbelievable job all season and this was just a culmination of that and we just executed the game plan as the defense has been great all year,” Maimaron said. The kids believe that someone is just going to make a play and you they expect Will Prouty to make a play and get in the end zone. … Hopefully they can do it for two more games.”
In other sectional championship action:
Christos Argyropoulos ran for 198 yards and four touchdowns as host Stoneham (10-0) successfully defended its Division 6 North title with a 49-14 win over Hamilton-Wenham . Seth Russell added 115 yards and a score for the Spartans, who will face either Blackstone Mill ville
or Little to nina state semifinal next week.
In a matchup of undefeated teams, No. 1 Pope John
(9-0) earned a decisive 51-8 win over No. 2 Boston English/New Mission to win the Div. 8 North title at a drenched Everett Memorial Stadium.
The backfield tandem of John Smith Howell (six carries, 98 yards, two touchdowns) and Greg Smith (five carries 72 yards three touchdowns) led the potent Pope John offense, assisted by a Tiger defense that forced five turnovers.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these kids,” Tigers coach Paul Sobolewski said. “It’s surreal. I knew we had a good group of kids. Never in a million years did I think we’d be where we are.”
Howell started the Tigers’ scoring on the game’s opening drive, breaking open a 51yard run down the sideline on third-and-1. After an Eagles punt, the Tigers would double their lead thanks to a Roshad Evans 41yard reception from Anthony Mejia, their second touchdown on five total plays.
From there, the Tigers defense would force three straight fumbles resulting in two more from touchdowns from Smith and Howell to end the first quarter at 28-0.
Jalen Echevarria ran for two scores as St. Mary’s (7-3) won its fourth straight sectional title, defeating Nashoba Tech, 39-14, in Div. 7 North.
Christian Keeling rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns as West Bridgewater (9-1) captured the Div. 8 South title with a 47-28 victory over Coyle & Cassidy.
Boys soccer
Jonny Paecht scored three times and Patrick Mejia added the other goal as No. 3
Holliston (15-1-3) defeated No.2 Seekonk, 4-1, in a Div. 3 South semifinal.
Matt Dzwil and Davin Ralph scored to give No. 2
Masconomet (18-2-2) defeated third-seeded Concord-Carlisle, 2-1, in a Div. 2 North semifinal.
Girls soccer
Delaney Markham and Anna Carazza scored as No. 2 Winchester (20-1) advanced to the Div. 2 North final with a 2-0 win over third-seeded Concord-Carlisle.
Dasa Hase and Jill Bowen each scored twice, while Maya Baker and Izzy Musco also tallied as No. 4 Manchester Essex (15-3-2) defeated top-seeded Mystic Valley,
6-1, in a Div. 4 North semifinal.