In a few hours, we’ll see if Triton will hear its name called.
It’s been a tough two-game stretch for the Vikings to end the regular season, starting last week with a heartbreaking loss to “Border Battle” rival Newburyport. Then through heavy winds and downpours on Thursday night, the Vikings couldn’t rebound with a 14-8 setback over at Essex Tech.
And they were already hanging on by a thread.
Yet despite that, there’s hope.
Triton (3-5) had already dropped down to the “last team in” the Division 6 field at No. 16 following the Newburyport loss. But even after losing to the Hawks, the Vikings jumped up to No. 15 when the latest MIAA rankings came out on Friday morning. If the Vikings end up making it when the official brackets get released on Sunday afternoon, they’ll certainly have Tri-County RVT — which opted out of the tournament after going 7-1 during the regular season — to thank for opening up a spot.
Scoreless after the first quarter, Essex Tech would take a 7-0 lead into halftime when senior QB Jacoby Casinelli-Tarasuik plunged in from the 1. Triton would get on the board thanks to a Carl Lucy 60-yard touchdown run followed by a conversion in the third, but the Hawks would get the game-winner from a Xavier Barrias 2-yard TD early in the fourth.
With the conditions only getting worse, the Vikings turned over their final two possessions.
Lucy finished with 122 yards on 21 carries, and now has 1,309 rushing yards for the season with 23 total touchdowns.
Newburyport limits potent North Reading, but can’t score
If you need all three phases clicking to win a football game, then Newburyport had two of them working on Thursday night.
Unfortunately, that missing third one is generally the best way to score points.
Through heavy winds and rain, the Newburyport defense held a potent North Reading offense to 15 points below its average this season. But on the other end, the Clippers just couldn’t get into the end zone, as their regular season came to an end with a 24-0 shutout loss to the Hornets.
Offensively, Newburyport (2-5) could only muster 96 total yards for the game.
“North Reading is having a good season,” said Newburyport coach John Webber. “They are well coached and they rally to the ball well. They are always a tough matchup, and one look down their sideline tells you that they are all business.”
But, despite the loss, clearly there was still a lot of good for the Clippers.
Following two straight victories, a Clipper defense led by Braydon Fowler (INT), TJ Skiba, Bennett Beaulier, Henry Thurston and Jackson Brice put together another great outing to limit the Hornets (7-1). North Reading is ranked No. 5 in Division 5, and was averaging 39.6 points heading into the game.
Newburyport will now schedule two non-playoff games before traveling over to play archrival Amesbury on Thanksgiving morning.
“I think that we have some guys who approach every game as winnable,” said Webber. “They show up ready to compete and leave it all on the field. But we need to develop that mindset throughout our roster. We need have complete buy-in, maturity and gain some confidence before we can experience any success long-term.”
North Reading 24, Newburyport 0
Newburyport (2-6): 0 0 0 0 — 0
Ipswich (1-6): 14 3 7 0 — 24
Newburyport Scoring Plays
None
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: NEWBURYPORT (27-89): Owen Mongeau 4-29, Jack Miller 11-27, Paul Suozzo 5-16, Braydon Fowler 4-15, Felipe Placa 3-2
PASSING: N — Miller 1-11-0-1, 7, Mongeau 0-1-0-0, 0
RECEIVING: N — Henry Thurston 1-7
Essex Tech 14, Triton 8
Triton (3-5): 0 0 8 0 — 8
Essex Tech (5-3): 0 7 0 7 — 24
Second Quarter
ET — Jacoby Casinelli-Tarasuik 1 run (kick good)
Third Quarter
T — Carl Lucy 60 run (Lucy run)
Fourth Quarter
ET — Xavier Barrias 1 run (kick good)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: TRITON (31-171): Carl Lucy 21-122, Jake Conroy 5-34, Athan Eggleston 2-8, Sam Harding 3-7
PASSING: T — Harding 0-5-0-1, 0
RECEIVING: T — None
**Pentucket will be added when score/stats are reported.