BEVERLY — The 2023 Beverly High football team is, by and large, young and fairly inexperienced.
The Haverhill Hillies are not.
The difference in the two programs in Saturday’s season opener for both at muggy Hurd Stadium showcased that.
The visitors from the Merrimack Valley League won the battle up front, moving up and down the field with ease for the majority of the first half and jumped out to a big lead they never relinquished, knocking off the Panthers, 27-14.
“We made some first game mistakes that a young team is bound to make,” said Beverly head coach Jeff Hutton. “There were some bad reads, running the wrong play, over-pursuing instead of staying with the right angles.
“But those weren’t because of lack of effort,” he added. “That was the kids just trying to do too much to do what they thought would help.”
Two of Beverly’s three senior captains, quarterback Brian Kessel and slot man Danny Conant, connected on both BHS scores — on the exact same play. Kessel sucked in the Haverhill defense with a play fake before hitting a wide open Conant in stride down the right sidelines for a 53-yard score in the second quarter, cutting the Orange-and-Black deficit to 20-7. Late in the third quarter, the duo hooked up again for a 25-yard scoring toss.
In both instances, sophomore Danny Pierce (who had a 40.7 average on four punts) blasted through the extra point.
But the hosts couldn’t climb back from an early deficit that saw them down 13-0 after one quarter and 27-7 at halftime.
Haverhll, playing its first game for new head coach (and program alum) Rob Pike, got a fine performance from junior QB James Farrell, who threw for 229 yards and two scores. Both his touchdowns went to his favorite receiver, Damon Ferreira (8 catches, 142 yards). Burly running back Jhonathan Wallis added 96 yards on the ground and a pair of scores of his own.
“We executed well, and that’s a credit to the guys,” Pike said of his team’s first half play. “Farrell can really spin it; he’s a great player. Devin’s a great player, Sebastien (Guillame, a wideout) is a great player … we’ve got a lot of good receivers and a kid who can really throw it.”
There were certainly some plusses for Beverly to build on. Big Jack Consedine had a solid two-way game at tight end and nose tackle and added a nice 39-yard catch and run. Other guys on the defensive line such as Jacob Plakans, Alex Marquez, and Connor LoColle also got good penetration in the trenches.
In addition, several sophomores played well in their first varsity action, with Sean Costa leading the team in rushing (26 yards on 5 carries) while showing poise and maturity. “He was just one block or missed tackle away from taking a 5-yard gain into a 30 or 40-yarder,” said Hutton.
The Panthers hope to have top receiver and safety Liam Timpone back Friday night when they hit the road to play host North Andover (6 p.m.).