LYNNFIELD — Midway through the third quarter of Friday evening’s Cape Ann League showdown in Lynnfield, the host Pioneers got a lengthy touchdown run from Chase Buoniconti to turn what appeared to be a runaway victory for Manchester Essex into a one-score game.
The Hornets needed an answer, and senior quarterback Zach Hurd delivered just that.
After a nice kick return gave Manchester the ball at their own 41-yard line, Hurd saw something at the line of scrimmage, called his own number, and scampered his way down the field for a 57-yard pickup. Two plays later, Conrad Garfield punched it in from two yards out to put the Hornets back up by a pair of touchdowns, and they were off to the races from there.
Lynnfield wasn’t able to move the chains much thereafter, and the visitors found paydirt twice more down the stretch to put the stamp on a convincing 41-19 road victory.
“We just called a run there right to (Garfield) to the A-gap, and I saw right away that the linebacker blew that up,” Hurd explained of his game-changing run. “So I just audibled it, pulled it in and just kind of did what I do … just saw that lane and took off.”
The explosive and shifty dash was just one of Hurd’s 21 carries on the evening. He finished with a game-high 182 rushing yards and a TD while completing 14 of his 19 pass attempts for 195 yards and two more scores.
“Zach is really good at playing in the chaos which is really helpful. His scrambling part of his game is super important and it’s just hard to defend,” said Hornets’ coach Joe Grimes, his team improving to 6-1 on the year with one clash remaining: a marquee CAL tilt against unbeaten Amesbury next Thursday (6 p.m.) for the league title.
“Lynnfield’s very well coached, very tough, and they were fired up and ready to go tonight,” added the coach. “So that (Hurd run) was a turning point because that was their shot to really get the momentum in the second half.”
Prior to the decisive, three-play touchdown drive, Manchester had built its lead thanks to consecutive touchdown receptions from senior wideout Felix Wood. The first was from nine yards out to cap off a 10-play, 77-yard opening drive for the Hornets.
After forcing a Lynnfield punt, Hurd connected with Wood again on a 46-yard bomb down the sidelines — a perfectly lofted, lead pass that Wood hauled in with two hands and went untouched over the goal line. Wood finished the night with a team-high 68 yards on three receptions, while Nick Glass (4 catches, 43 yards), Adam Macleod (3 catches, 41 yards), Charlie Thurlow (2 catches, 38 yards) and Noah Cohen (2 catches, 5 yards) all chipped in through the air as well.
The Hornets’ passing attack has been deadly this fall, with Hurd completing close to 80 percent of his attempts on the year.
“Nick (Glass) coming out of nowhere after being my backup at quarterback, we just automatically have that connection,” said Hurd. “We kind of just have the same thoughts. But everyone else has been stepping up, too. I want to shout out Charlie, Noah, Adam, (Felix) … everyone that’s been catching the ball has been great. We’ve been putting the work in from the offseason every single day.”
Manchester added a third score before halftime when Cohen ran it in from five yards out before Hurd found Glass for a 2-point conversion. That made it a 20-6 game at the break, and it remained that score until Buoniconti’s big run.
Hurd would add another two-yard score midway through the fourth to cap off a quick seven-play drive from midfield, and Charlie Thurlow supplanted the scoring for his team with a six-yard scamper late in action.
Lynnfield got an impressive 96-yard kickoff return score from Luke DiSilvio with under a minute to go, but it was too little, too late.
As good as the Hornets’ passing game was in the win, it wouldn’t have been possible without some hard running from Garfield. The junior consistently muscled his way through would-be tacklers for extra yards, finishing with 67 yards on 15 totes to really help Manchester establish its run and keep the defense honest.
“Conrad’s an absolute beast. He puts his head down, finds the gap, and when I see him hit the hole perfectly it’s just so satisfying,” said Hurd.
“He’s such a good downhill runner and it’s hard for defenses to have him get on you so fast like that,” added Grimes. “It really gets the offense going when he’s able to (gain yardage), because then it opens up everything for Zach on the outside.”
Manchester’s line deserves a ton of credit, too, for holding their ground and helping carve out running room for the backs. Grimes noted one particular player who really stood out Friday night in that regard.
“Joe Glass specifically did a really good job tonight opening up those inside holes to really make (Lynnfield) respect (the run) so that we could get outside and take advantage there,” said Grimes.
Thurlow added an interception for Manchester, and the team as a whole was able to rotate in numerous players defensively to stay fresh. The Hornets’ pass defense came to play, limiting Lynnfield’s two quarterbacks (Spencer Brown and Matt Tracy) to just 8-for-19 passing for 79 yards and no TDs. The line applied pressure early and often as well.
Now riding a six-game winning streak, Manchester will look to close out the regular season on a high note with a win over visiting Amesbury (7-0) next week. With a victory, the Hornets would snatch the CAL Baker Division crown.
“We know that Amesbury is a bunch of dogs. They run that offense that’s so hard to stop and we’ve had a lot of challenges stopping it in the past,” said Hurd. “But we’re gonna absolutely grind this week, eat right, do everything right for our bodies and just recover and focus.
“It would mean so much winning the CAL, I mean, we haven’t done it in so long so we all have the same mindset, the same goal.”
Manchester Essex 41, Lynnfield 19
at Pioneer Stadium, Lynnfield High School
Manchester Essex (6-1);12;8;6;15;41
Lynnfield (1-6);0;6;7;6;19
Scoring summary
M — Felix Wood 9 pass from Zach Hurd (rush failed)
M — Wood 46 pass from Hurd (pass failed)
L — Lucas Deraps 33 run (kick failed)
M — Noah Cohen 5 run
L — Chase Buoniconti 65 run (#35 kick)
M — Conrad Garfield 2 run (pass failed)
M — Hurd 2 run (Hurd rush)
M — Charlie Thurlow 6 run (Nick Glass kick)
L — Luke DiSilvio 96 kickoff return (rush failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Manchester Essex — Zach Hurd 21-182, Conrad Garfield 15-67, Charlie Thurlow 5-19, Adam Macleod 2-11, Noah Cohen 1-5; Lynnfield — Chase Buoniconti 4-72, Lucas Deraps 5-44, Spencer Brown 5-24, Matt Tracy 3-12, Luke DiSilvio 2-(-2), Xander Janicki 2-(-3).
PASSING: Manchester Essex — Hurd 14-19-195-2-2; Lynnfield — Brown 7-12-62-0-1, Tracy 1-7-17-0-0.
RECEIVING: Manchester Essex — Felix Wood 3-68, Nick Glass 4-43, Macleod 3-41, Thurlow 2-38, Cohen 2-5; Lynnfield — DiSilvio 2-39, Joel Attubato 2-25, Buoniconti 2-13, Aaron Attubato 1-6, Will Mandile 1-(-4).