HATHORNE — The Essex Tech football team had been here a few times before this season, leading by multiple scores in the first half and letting the game slip away.
So when visiting Somerville held the football for the entire second quarter and was knocking on the door of the end zone as halftime approached, the Hawks knew it was time to make a statement.
Kaio Dos Passos and a shot of Essex Tech defenders knocked Highlander QB Sam De Souza back short of the pylon as time expired and that momentous stop carried the Hawks to a thorough 28-0 victory under the lights at home on Thursday night.
“We’ve been talking a lot about not taking our foot off the gas and that was the moment to display it perfectly,” said senior captain Jake Gilbert, who ran for 107 yards and a pair of first half touchdowns.
The Hawks (2-7) earned their first shutout since the 2016 season largely by making the Highlanders (3-6) go the distance. Somerville employed mostly Wildcat-oriented run sets and amasses 204 yards on the ground. But it took them 42 carries to do so, which was the ‘make them earn it’ mantra that Essex Tech wanted to play with.
“That’s something coach (Paul) Worth used to say,” Hawks head coach Dan Connors said, referring to the father of North Shore and Essex Tech football, “that if they’re going to score, make them go 10 minutes. If they gain eight yards, somebody go hit the kid and make him feel like he had to earn it. That’s what we did and I think ultimately why they didn’t score.”
Senior Devin Neal had a tremendous game for Essex Tech, shifting up to linebacker from his regular safety spot and crashing into the tight pile to help bring down a number of Somerville ball carriers. Charlie Lussier and Griffin Taylor did a not job setting the edge and bringing pressure the few times the Highlanders tried to throw the ball and QB Jacoby Casinelli Tarasuik came up with a key tackle-for-loss on Somerville’s best second half drive.
Gilbert and the Hawk offense set the tone early, going on a 91-yard scoring drive to begin the proceedings. The senior’s low-to-the-ground, powerful running style sprung him for a 20-yard touchdown on the opening drive and after the defense forced a punt, he scored again set up by a nifty 27 yard scamper by his QB, Tarasuik.
Now with 974 rushing yards on the season, Gilbert has two more games to hit the coveted 1,000-yard milestone.
“The way I run comes from all the years my dad put me in the gym and had me working out,” Gilbert said. “And also my coaches, who taught me how to run so low.”
Speedster Makaio Bey then took a Somerville punt 45 yards through a seam for a Hawks touchdown to give the hosts a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
Somerville then embarked on the 23-play drive that consumed 12:10 and ended just outside the end zone as the second quarter expired. Between the drive before the punt return and receiving the ball to begin the third, Somerville wound up running 37 total offensive plays in between Hawks offensive snaps.
But with no points to show for all that possessions, it was advantage Essex Tech.
“I’m really happy that we put this one together,” said Connors. “All year, we’ve known we have to be patient. Maybe more patient than we want to be. Building a culture takes time and we have a really good group with a solid mindset, so this is a good one for us to put it all together.”
Casinelli Tarasuik ran for 69 yards and threw for an identical amount, hitting a wide open Nick Branciforte for a 31-yard TD in the third. Xavier Parsons, Mike Indelicato and Deacon Parsons helped the Hawks extend their final drive to eat up the last 7:46 and put an end to what has been a somewhat frustrating six game losing streak.
“We played a really good team last week (Triton) and competed pretty well (being tied in the third quarter). That sent us into this week’s practices with a good mindset,” Gilbert said. “Playing a game like this shows how far we’ve come and how much we can change.”
Essex Tech 28, Somerville 0
at Essex Tech, Hathorne
Somerville (3-6) 0 0 0 0 00
Essex Tech (2-7) 21 0 7 0 28
Scoring summary ET- Jake Gilbert 20 run (Kaio Dos Passos kick)
ET- Gilbert 3 run (Dos Passos kick)
ET- Makaio Bey 45 punt return (Dos Passos kick)
ET- Nick Branciforte 31 pass from Jacoby Casinelli Tarasuik (Dos Passos kick)
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Somerville — Marcos Pineda 14-63, Ryan Louis 10-55, Sam De Souza 6-46, Jojo Flores 5-21, Gavin Fucile 5-15, Mateus Fernandes 2-4 ; Essex Tech — Jake Gilbert 15-107, Jacoby Casinelli Tarasuik 3-69, Mike Indelicato 2-25, Deacon Parsons 2-9, Xavier Parsons 1-4 .
PASSING: Somerville — De Souza 1-8-6-0-0, Flores 0-1-0-0-0; Essex Tech — Casinelli Tarasuik 4-6-69-1-0.
RECEIVING: Somerville — Peter Mather 1-6 ; Essex Tech — Nick Branciforte 1-31, Makaio Bey 1-22, X. Parsons 2-16 .