Arbogast, Hirtle in big rush
Redmen improve to 3-0 on season with blowout victory
TEWKSBURY >> Led by three touchdowns each by seniors Sean Hirtle and Alex Arbogast, the Tewksbury Memorial High School football team improved to 3-0 to start the season with a 40-6 non-league victory over Belmont in the team’s home opener Friday at Doucette Field.
Hirtle rushed for 122 yards on 11 carries, and Arbogast had 115 yards, also on 11 carries, as part of Tewksbury’s 281 total rushing yards. The team finished with 330 total yards.
“We are fortunate to be where we are at and I think our guys know that. (The 3-0 record) is great but I think we have a lot of things that we need to work on,” said Redmen head coach Brian Aylward. “(Belmont) had some good players and they could do some stuff. Our guys were ready. We had a great week of practice.
“That was a full team win from all of our guys, including the scout team who work so hard day in and day out and they come out and try to help us get prepared. The focus level was great across the board. We just have to continue to get better at the things that we struggle with. We know that we’re going to need to do some things better if we want to beat some of the better teams that we’re going to face down the road.”
Tewksbury jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead behind three rushing touchdowns. Arbogast, who scored four times in the team’s opener but missed last week’s game due to a track recruiting trip, capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive, which took up 5:17 off the clock, with a two-yard run off tackle. Jackson Feudo’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 1:12 left in the first quarter.
Later in the second quarter, Tewksbury started a drive on the Belmont 45, and after a sevenyard run by Hirtle, Arbogast darted to his left for a 38-yard TD run. The PAT kick was blocked, keeping it 13-0.
Belmont was held to a threeand-out, and the Redmen offense came right back on the field. On the first play from scrimmage, Hirtle went up the middle untouched for a 63-yard touchdown. Feudo’s kick was good.
Tewksbury’s defense held Belmont to just 27 yards in the first half. Playing well throughout the game were lineman Luke Shaw, Paxson Green and Manny Mengata, as well as linebackers Hunter Johnson, Ryan Fleming and Hirtle. Braydon Aylward also came up with an interception.
In the second half, Hirtle scored on a four-yard run to finish
a seven-play, 54-yard drive. That was followed by a 10yard TD by Hirtle and then a 40-yarder by Arbogast early in the fourth quarter.
Next week Tewksbury will open its league play and host North Andover on Friday.
“All of our hard work has led us to 0-0 (league record). It’s better to go into that game with an 3-0 record, but even if we were 0-3 we would still have a 0-0 (league record),” said Aylward. “This now becomes the next stage in the season and the guys have to get focused and get ready for a real good North Andover team.”