IPSWICH — It was a good night to be Hank Latorella.
The Ipswich High senior lineman and team captain had long dreamed of being able to carry the football and plunge into the end zone before his career in Orange-and-Black was over. When that opportunity presented itself Thursday night, the 6-foot-2, 280-pounder knew exactly what to do.
Running out of his team’s newly-formed ‘Tank’ formation, Latorella took a direct snap from the Boston English 2-yard line, drove to the left and powered his way into the end zone. He followed that up by running the exact same play for the ensuing 2-point conversion. As he came off the field, the popular Tiger was mobbed by his teammates, eager to celebrate his special milestone with him.
“Hank’s been wanting to do that for a few years,” said Ipswich head coach Zack Lamkin, whose won its second straight game after knocking off visiting Boston English, 29-12, at Jack Welch Stadium.
“We use Luke (Wile, a fullback and fellow captain) in our Beast package, and when Will (Gromko, another senior) is next to him it’s our Monster package. We figured putting Hank back there with them could create what we call Tank package. Hank’s been one of our hardest workers the last 2-3 years, so it was great we had the chance to put him in this situation … and he ran with it.”
Latorella also had a big game defensively, breaking into the Boston English backfield to make several tackles-for-loss. He also came inches shy of recording a safety for the hosts.
It was the final home game in the careers of Ipswich’s 10 seniors, as their last game of the 2025 season will take place on the road against their arch rivals from Hamilton-Wenham Thanksgiving morning.
After putting up just 83 points in their first eight games, the Tigers have now produced 71 over the last two contests.
Latorella’s score came in the third quarter, giving his team a 16-point lead (22-6).
Sophomore Ethan Boleski, Ipswich’s leading back, ran for 107 yards on 14 carries. He hit paydirt on the game’s opening drive by collecting a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback Vin Winter on a play action fake for a 6-0 lead.
Wile, a former lineman-turned-fullback who has a promising college football career for whoever lands him, doubled his team’s advantage by bulling his way in the end zone from seven yards out three plays in the second quarter. Gromko then ran in the conversion.
Isaiah Peebles had both Boston English (4-5) touchdowns on long runs of the Wildcat formation: a 78-yarder seconds before halftime, and a 65-yard scamper after Latorella’s score to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 22-12.
But the Ipswich defense held from there, and they punched home one final score with a minute remaining as Cullen Courville, a junior, took it home on 4th-and-2. Fellow junior Andrew Young tacked on the extra point.
“Seeing the execution and discipline and resilience of battling back was great,” said Lamkin. “I’m almost glad they got a couple of touchdowns, because it showed us how to fight back and still come out on top.
“A win like this will continue to build confidence,” he added. “These kids deserve this. If you saw how hard they work in practice or how many hours they spend watching film, you’d think we were in the playoffs. No one has let up at all. It’s a good group with a good group of leaders. They deserve to go out on top.”
Ipswich 29, Boston English 12
at Jack Welch Stadium, Ipswich
Boston English (4-5);0;6;6;0;12
Ipswich (2-7);6;8;8;7;29
Scoring summary
I — Ethan Boleski 2 run (pass failed)
I — Luke Wile 7 run (Will Gromko rush)
BE — Isaiah Peebles 78 run (pass failed)
I — Hank Latorella 2 run (Latorella rush)
BE — Peebles 65 run (pass failed)
I — Cullen Courville 2 run (Andrew Young kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Boston English — Isaiah Peebles 7-179, Marcus Gangemi 4-10, Sandley Nicolas 4-9, Manuel Miranda 3-3, Joshua Calixte 1-(-1), Elijah Johnson 1-(-3), Pierre Lovenson 3-(-12); Ipswich — Ethan Boleski 14-107, JD Greenleaf 9-52, Cullen Courville 6-33, Luke Wile 8-32, Will Gromko 4-14, Hank Latorella 2-1.
PASSING: Boston English — Lovenson 0-5-0-0-1; Ipswich — Vin Winter 4-9-35-1-1, W. Gromko 0-1-0-0-0.
RECEIVING: Boston English — None; Ipswich — Boleski 2-19, Sawyer Gromko 1-11, Courville 1-5.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN