Everyone involved with the Amesbury football program knew this was going to be a special season.
Heck, it was predicted two years ago.
When the clock hit zero on the Gillette Stadium scoreboard to bring an end to the 2023 MIAA season, some members of that year’s Amesbury team walked towards the tunnel with their heads hung low, following a tough 42-16 loss to Uxbridge. But for others — especially the freshmen and sophomores on that memorable squad — they took a moment to look around at the house that Tom Brady built, and made a promise to both themselves and to each other.
… That wasn’t going to be the last time they would play on that hallowed turf.
“I remember standing on the sideline during the fourth quarter of that Super Bowl, and we were down by a lot,” said senior cornerback Ben Wood. “I was next to coach (Kevin Donovan), and I remember saying to him, ‘I feel like senior year, we’re going to be back here.’
“And I know a lot of the other guys felt the same way.”
Through hard work and a belief in each other, that prediction has come true.
Tonight, Amesbury has earned its second chance over the last three seasons to compete for the Division 7 Super Bowl, and will face top-seeded Cohasset back at Gillette Stadium with a 5 p.m. scheduled kickoff. What more, the No. 2 Redhawks (12-0) will have a chance at history, standing just one win away from completing a perfect, undefeated, State Championship season.
And after what happened two years ago, they’re ready to leave everything on that field.
“We have a chance to redeem ourselves,” said Wood.
A Shot at Perfection
Amesbury can go down as an historic team in the history of the Newburyport Daily News area.
Winning a Super Bowl is not that uncommon for our local teams.
–In its lone appearance, Georgetown won the 6A title back in 2000.
–Pentucket went to three straight Division 4A Super Bowls from 1999-01, and took home the crown in ‘99.
–Newburyport is our most prolific team and has won seven Super Bowls, coming in 1997, 1995, 1976, 1975, 1966, 1956 and 1955.
Then Amesbury itself has been to a few and won a couple. There was the 2008 team that posted a 12-1 record for the year and crushed Martha’s Vineyard in the 3A Super Bowl, 40-19, as well as the 1970 team that won the Class D Championship and was coached by longtime Athletic Director Doug Wood.
But to win it all while going undefeated?
Now that … not many teams have been able to do that.
“It’s a group that’s learned from every opportunity over their four years here,” said Amesbury coach Colin McQueen. “These guys have bought in to what we teach here, and they’ve kept upping what their best product is. I love this group, and all season long we’ve just talked about wanting to maximize our time with each other. We’ve been fortunate enough to do that, and to be able to coach them into December is not something we take for granted.”
And to bring a State Championship trophy back home to Amesbury would be an accomplishment that nobody on the team would take for granted.
“Oh it’d mean everything,” said senior quarterback Justin Dube. “We haven’t had a championship here since 2008, and we know what the pressure is. But we’ve put so many hours into this, and our coaching staff has put so many hours into this, that we just feel ready. We have the best support system, and we’re going to give everything on that field.”