Duxbury flattens Hingham in rout
HINGHAM — South Shore football fans have asked the same question for over a decade: Will a Patriot League team knock off Duxbury?
They will have to wait at least one more week to find out. Junior quarterback Matt Festa put on a clinic Friday night, completing 13 of his 14 pass attempts for 243 yards. He also added seven carries for 68 yards, finishing with six total touchdowns as the Dragons continued their utter domination of their conference with a convincing 49-20 rout of Hingham on the road.
“The offensive line has been stepping up every week, getting better and better,” Festa said. “I had a lot of time back there. It makes it easier to see the field. Without the offensive line, none of that really would have happened.”
For the most part, Duxbury (5-1) was held in check during the first quarter. Festa provided the Dragons an early lead, as he fired his initial pass of the game toward the end zone and senior Brady Madigan, who made a highlight-reel play by leaping over two defenders to haul in a 25-yard touchdown as Duxbury jumped in front, 7-0.
The floodgates soon opened. Festa got things started, as he scampered for a 1-yard touchdown rush to put the Dragons ahead, 14-0, with 11:58 to go in the half.
After Finn Carley nabbed an interception on the ensuing possession for Hingham, the Dragons capitalized, as Festa linked up with Madigan for a second time from five yards out, making it 21-0.
Shortly after Festa connected with Chris Walsh for a 5-yard touchdown in the closing stages of the second quarter, the Dragons attempted a squib kick. The ball took a wild hop past a few would-be Hingham returners, before Michael Graham recovered for Duxbury at the Harbormen 38yard-line with 40 seconds remaining in the half.
On the very next play, Festa escaped pressure, then rumbled his way up the sideline for a wild, 38-yard touchdown run to make it a 42-7 contest. Ballgame.
“It doesn’t really happen too often,” Festa chuckled when asked about the play. “I kind of run like a 50-yearold man. It was kind of fun to have a nice run.”
James Anderson capped the scoring for Duxbury, as he found the end zone from 10 yards out to make it a 49-7 affair with 7:44 to go in the third quarter.
Madigan finished with seven receptions for 136 yards.
Hingham (4-3) would pick up a pair of touchdowns on the ground from senior captain Will Griffin in the fourth. The Harbormen also got a contribution from senior quarterback Dylan Pierce, who finished 8-for-13 passing with 134 yards and a touchdown toss to Gunnar Corey.
The Dragons close the regular season next week against Whitman-Hanson before turning their attention to the Div. 4 state tournament.
“The kids just came out and executed the game plan,” said Duxbury coach Matt Landolfi. “We saw that (Hingham was) really stacking the box, so we made a couple of adjustments there. Luckily enough, we took advantage of it, and we scored some points.”