Sigsbury leaves with a smile
Billerica coach avenges 1992 Super Bowl loss
Billerica 23
Methuen 13
METHUEN — Now Duane Sigsbury has some good memories from Nicholson Stadium.
As a player at Reading, Sigsbury lost his final high school game in 1992 on Methuen’s home turf in the EMass Division 2A Super Bowl.
On Friday night, Sigsbury coached his Billerica football team to a 23-13 comeback win over the sixth-ranked Rangers in the first matchup between the Merrimack Valley Conference rivals since 2015.
“This one is for every one of my buddies from the 1992 Reading team,” said Sigsbury. “This was payback for all these years of feeling terrible for losing the Super Bowl. Just like these guys, we loved and lived this, and this one was for them.”
Down 13-8 in the fourth quarter, Billerica (6-0) scored 15 points in a flurry. Senior captain Mike Murnane rumbled for a 10-yard touchdown and junior quarterback Steven Gentile rushed for a 12-yard score a couple minutes later after a successful onside kick.
Murnane missed the first five weeks of the season with a broken collarbone, and Gentile filled in admirably at quarterback. Active at wide receiver, Murnane made several key throws off double handoffs, including a 21-yard pass to tight end Cole Dillon that set up Billerica’s first touchdown, an 8-yard run from Dhaethmy Dorival in the second quarter.
“Coming back to a 5-0 team, I knew I had to make something happen,” said Murnane. “It’s been amazing to get back out there. The offense flowed. It felt natural.”
Methuen (4-2) took a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter when Shane Eason broke a 17-yard touchdown run and Omar Aboutoui drilled a 35yard field goal to capitalize on a fumbled kickoff. Aboutoui kicked another 35-yarder in the third, but the Rangers were held out of the end zone down the stretch, with Dillon providing a crucial sack to seal it.
“Billerica kids showed their Billerica toughness,” Sigsbury said. “I love my guys. This team is special and I can’t say enough about the character of this group.”