WEST NEWBURY — It was a pretty good plan for the Newburyport football team heading into Friday night’s game at “River Rival” Pentucket.
And you know what … it was working!
Making the short drive down Route 113, the Clippers knew that they had to find a way to keep up with a high-powered Panther offense averaging over 27 points per game. So the plan was a simple one: Hopefully win the coin toss, elect to receive, then put together an opening scoring drive to grab a lead and put some pressure on the hosts.
Well: Check, check and check.
Newburyport did exactly what an underdog — on paper — dreams of doing, and shocked the home favorite crowd just three plays in with a splash play to put points up on the scoreboard. Senior QB Jack Miller rolled out to his left on a 3rd-and-10, and flung a bullet down the field that junior Ben Buchmayr hauled in and converted into an 80-yard touchdown reception.
How about that for an opening statement?
But the only problem? Newburyport never got past Step 1 of its plan.
Following that opening strike, Pentucket proceeded to score a whopping 43 unanswered points with its “Big 3” of Steven Harper, Nick Carrion and Jackson Miller once again leading the way. The trio combined for 286 total yards and five touchdowns to fuel what eventually was a 50-13 blowout win for the Panthers, marking the program’s first victory over the Clippers since 2021.
“It’s amazing, man,” said Carrion on the win. “Our class hadn’t beaten them yet, so it’s definitely good to go out getting the W against them. We had to win this one.”
And it was just another important win mentally for Pentucket (4-1).
After losing by a single point up at still-undefeated Amesbury two weeks ago, a natural question coming out of Landray Stadium was how would Pentucket respond? The Panthers came into this season with serious expectations — thanks largely to the “Big 3” and a veteran offensive line — and were rewarded for a strong start with a top-5 ranking in Division 6 across the first few MIAA power rankings.
But following a heartbreaking loss, how’s this been for a rebound?
Hamilton-Wenham: 48-6 (W).
Newburyport: 50-13 (W).
If you’re a Pentucket fan, you couldn’t have asked for much better. It’s been two resounding, business-handling victories for the Panthers, who came in still ranked No. 5 in Division 6 when the latest MIAA poll was released prior to Friday’s game. If the Panthers wanted to prove that they’re a legit statewide contender, they’ve done just that.
“Regardless of the score, we always talk about how once we’re into the Cape Ann League schedule, every game is competitive and you have to go out and prove yourself,” said Pentucket coach Dan Leary. “Our mindset is to throw the records out the window and approach every game the same. So I’m proud of our effort today, and a lot of guys contributed.”
Buchmayr’s blast was a shock, but Pentucket answered in just four plays.
Harper kept it himself on a 2-yard QB draw touchdown, then after forcing a 3-and-out on defense, he hit Carrion on a bubble screen that the fellow senior took 56 yards to the house. Harper would then come up with an interception to end Newburyport’s third drive, and would follow by throwing consecutive touchdown passes to Carrion (8 yards) and Cooper Zaneski (36 yards) on back-to-back possessions. A 2-yard touchdown run from Carrion on the final play of the second would make it a 36-6 game at halftime, and it took just four plays for Miller to open the third quarter with a 3-yard TD run.
The final lines:
Harper: 12-of-16 passing, 197 yards, 4 total TDs.
Carrion: 5-98 receiving, 3-23 rushing, 3 total TDs.
Miller: 6-68 rushing, 5-52 receiving, TD.
“When you know you have Steven Harper throwing you the ball, and you know that when you don’t have the ball, Jackson Miller has it in his hands, it’s just magic in the backfield,” said Carrion.
But make no mistake, Pentucket is a complete team.
Harper is completing an impressive 74.6% of his passes on the season, and that’s because he’s had plenty of time between a veteran — and still improving — offensive line of Tedy Cloutier, Liam Hammond, Jacob Follis, Jesse Wirwicz and Max Cloutier. Then Pentucket allowed the one big play on Friday, but defensively Chase Dowling, Wirwicz, Jacob LeBel, Hammond and the Cloutier twins stuffed the run when they were in the game.
The Panthers would then end the night seeing Dillon Burrier throw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Skahan.
“A lot of it has been good protection,” said Leary of the offensive line. “They get out on screen passes and they block on the perimeter. And what they’ve done is they’ve helped us become a more balanced offense. That’s why Steven’s been able to spread the ball around to multiple guys.”
Meanwhile for Newburyport (0-5), it’ll take a long time to analyze the tape.
Besides Buchmayr’s big play, fellow junior Owen Mongeau also had a nice night. He would get the edge to break off a 21-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, and finish with a team-high 40 rushing yards while also hauling in two passes for 30 more yards. Both Nicholas Roper and Bennett Beaulier batted down passes at the line, and Miller would finish with 122 passing yards and another 31 rushing.
“We talked at the half, and we said that the score was not indicitive of the game that was going on,” said Newburyport coach John Webber. “They weren’t beating us by 30, we were beating ourselves by 30. It was things like guys not understanding where to line up, silly penalties, running the wrong play. It was a lot, a lot of mental errors that just started to fall apart for us.
“To this point we’ve been fairly mentally sharp, but we didn’t have it tonight.”
Pentucket 50, Newburyport 13
Newburyport (0-5): 6 0 7 0 — 13
Pentucket (4-1): 15 21 7 7 — 50
First Quarter
N — Ben Buchmayr 80 pass from Jack Miller (kick blocked), 10:15
P — Steven Harper 2 run (Nick Carrion run), 8:19
P — Carrion 56 pass from Harper (Charles Rec kick), 5:36
Second Quarter
P — Carrion 8 pass from Harper (Rec kick), 8:17
P — Cooper Zaneski 36 pass from Harper (Rec kick), 4:21
P — Carrion 2 run (Rec kick), :00
Third Quarter
P — Jackson Miller 3 run (Rec kick), 9:53
N — Owen Mongeau 21 run (Nick Garbarino kick), 5:32
Fouth Quarter
P — Ryan Skahan 27 pass from Dillon Burrier (Rec kick), 11:55
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: PENTUCKET (24-106): Jackson Miller 6-68, Nick Carrion 3-23, Adam Persichetti 3-15, Baylon Leonard 1-7, Dillon Burrier 4-3, Asher Locher 1-0, Ryan Skahan 1-(-1), Steven Harper 4-(-2), Nathan Rollins 1-(-7); NEWBURYPORT (23-121): Owen Mongeu 4-40, Jack Miller 8-31, Tim Sheehan 2-25, Braydon Fowler 1-20, Augustine Freunlich 1-7, Paul Suozzo 7-(-2)
PASSING: P — Harper 12-16-3-0, 197, Burrier 2-2-1-0, 30; N — Miller 5-16-1-1, 122, Mongeau 0-1-0-0, 0
RECEIVING: P — Carrion 5-98, Miller 5-52, Cooper Zaneski 1-36, Skahan 1-27, Liam Foley 1-11, Locher 1-3; N — Ben Buchmayr 1-80, Mongeau 2-30, Henry Thurston 1-8, Fowler 1-4