Manchester Essex quarterback Zach Hurd has been gashing defenses with his feet all season long — and he kept the ball rolling in Friday night’s clash with Hamilton-Wenham.
The junior signal caller went into contest averaging nearly nine yards per carry with seven TDs, both tops in the Cape Ann area. That YPC rate increased even more after a monster evening that saw Hurd go for a whopping 238 yards on the ground on 15 attempts, and he found the end zone four times in what wound up being a 40-7 Hornets’ route.
“Big game for him getting it done with his feet. It’s been great to watch Zach develop as a quarterback this year,” said Manchester Essex coach Joe Grimes, his team now 5-1. “So much of his production is a result of really good decision-making and excellent quarterback play. He’s a guy we ask to go out and put us on his back some nights and he loves it.”
Trailing 7-6 at halftime, Hurd and the Hornets’ offense kicked it into high gear after the break to earn the runaway victory. After Gabe Magee scored in the second on a 3-yard run to answer a Generals’ rushing score, Hurd found paydirt from 13-and-1-yard out in the third to put his team in the driver’s seat.
He then added a 68-yard scamper to the end zone in the fourth, before sprinting 48 yards for one last touchdown late in action for the icing on the cake.
With the performance, Hurd is now inching closer to a 1,000 yard rushing campaign as he’s up to 825 yards and 11 TDs on the year. Moreover, says Grimes, he’s a fantastic leader and has complete buy in from the locker room as the Hornets’ come down the regular season stretch.
“He’s so well respected from his teammates and coaches because all of his success stems from a ridiculous work ethic and dedication to this team and what we’re trying to accomplish,” added Grimes. “It’s phenomenal to see all that hard work pay off in terms of wins and nice looking stat sheets.”
Conrad Garfield, who scored the other Manchester touchdown on a 4-yard run in the fourth, also had a nice day out of the backfield with 128 yards on a team-high 22 totes. Magee added 71 rushing yards in a game that saw the Hornets go for 451 total yards on the ground. Charlie Thurlow caught Hurd’s only passing completion (he was 1-for-4) for a 14 yard gain.
Manchester is back in action on Friday evening (6:30) when it hosts a talented Lynnfield squad for its fourth straight home game. The Hornets will then wrap up the regular season at Amesbury the following week.
Manchester Essex 40, Hamilton-Wenham 7
at Hyland Field, Manchester Essex Regional High School
Hamilton-Wenham (0-6);0;7;0;0;7
Manchester Essex (5-1);0;6;14;20;40
Scoring summary
HW — Caden Schrock 1 run (Martin Baum kick)
M — Gabe Magee 3 run (pass failed)
M — Zach Hurd 13 run (Hurd run)
M — Hurd 1 run (run failed)
M — Conrad Garfield 4 run (kick failed)
M — Hurd 68 run (Hurd run)
M — Hurd 48 run (kick failed)
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Hamilton-Wenham — Caden Schrock 19-80, Caden McCollum 4-29, Luke Molitano 1-3; Manchester Essex — Zach Hurd 15-238, Conrad Garfield 22-128, Gabe Magee 12-71, Noah Cohen 4-14.
PASSING: Hamilton-Wenham — McCollum 6-16-79-0-0, Schrock 0-1-0-0-0; Manchester Essex — Hurd 1-4-14-0-0.
RECEIVING: Hamilton-Wenham — Jack Cooke 2-32, Griffin Hawkins 1-29, Schrock 1-9, Molitano 1-2; Manchester Essex — Charlie Thurlow 1-14.
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.