AMESBURY — Whatever Amesbury coach Colin McQueen told his team at halftime, he might want to bottle that up for next week.
Because his guys responded in a big way.
Of course, it’s not like Amesbury had any problems getting hyped up to play in the 102nd annual Thanksgiving game against archrival Newburyport. But after preparing hard for a Division 7 semifinal game last Saturday, and with next week’s Super Bowl against Cohasset always on the back of their minds, you could forgive the Redhawks a little bit for coming out slow following just four days of rest.
But now … perfection is just one game away.
Tied heading into the break, Amesbury came out of the locker room and put its foot down on Landry Memorial Stadium. The Redhawks forced two turnovers and ended the game on a 21-0 run, pulling away to earn the 29-8 victory over Newburyport for the program’s second straight holiday win. Even better, though, the Redhawks (12-0) just keep the train rolling, and can now complete the perfect, Super Bowl-winning season at Gillette Stadium next Thursday night (5 p.m.).
“I mean, it’s just super fun to come out here and play them every year,” said senior safety Parker DeLong. “(Newburyport) is a good team, but we just have to stick to ourselves like we always do. Defensively we started out a little iffy in the first half, but the second half, you know, we got a good locker room talk that got us ready.”
Now that it’s over, history thankfully didn’t repeat itself for Amesbury.
Two years ago, on the same Landry Memorial field, Newburyport won the historic 100th annual game between the two archrivals. Which proved to be a bad omen for the Redhawks, who would go on to lose the Division 7 Super Bowl to a talented Uxbridge team the following week. Plenty of seniors on this year’s team were sophomores who played back then, and — while nobody is guaranteeing a Super Bowl title — they were determined not to let the start of that demise two years ago happen again.
“It’s great for us, especially for us seniors,” said captain Ethan Kirby. “A lot of us played in this game two years ago and lost, so it does mean a lot to beat them again today.”
And Kirby made arguably the play of the day.
Coming out of the halftime break tied at 8-8, Amesbury put together a tone-setting opening drive that saw junior Connor Scialdone burst up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown. Newburyport (4-7) was putting together a promising response, but while making a tackle, Kirby reached in and just ripped the ball away for a fumble that was recovered by Joe Celia. The Redhawks would then convert the turnover into points, this time getting a 15-yard touchdown run from Scialdone followed by an Ollie Peters conversion pass from Justin Dube to go up 22-8.
“I feel like that turnover gave us the energy,” said Kirby. “We were definitely missing that in the first half, and (getting turnovers) propelled us to have a little bit more fight out there. Our defense really came through in the second half.”
And that was only the beginning.
On Newburyport’s next drive, it was the combination of Evan Murphy and Gino DiLorenzo coming up with a monster sack to get their rivals off schedule. Ben Wood also added a nice pass-breakup, and defensive tackle Braden Delisle sniffed out a screen pass to ultimately force a Clipper punt.
“It was really fun out there today,” said DiLorenzo. “We were expecting to come out with a little bit more fire in the first half, but we really dialed it in during the second half. It’s always easy to get up for this game.”
Both teams then traded turnovers, and Amesbury was able to get a 1-yard TD run from Celia with two minutes left to ice the game. Celia led the way on the ground for the Redhawks with 108 yards on 18 carries, and Scialdone finished with 68 yards to go along with his two scores.
Meanwhile for Newburyport, of course it’s not how the season wanted to end.
But the young Clippers more than found their way this year, winning four of their last six games. Senior captain and QB Jack Miller finished with his best, scoring on a 1-yard run in the second quarter before Owen Mongeau took care of the conversion. Then looking forward to next year, the Clippers are in line to return their entire starting offensive line of Lucas Alfano, Noah Benson, Landon Theberge, Nicholas Sanchez and Nicholas Roper, along with star linebacker TJ Skiba and defensive lineman Bennett Beaulier.
“Like I’ve said all along, I’ve just been really proud of these guys,” said Newburyport coach John Webber. “You talk about finish, you talk about fight, you talk about effort, they gave it each and every day. There was no quit. Our senior class, as small as they are, the resiliency and leadership from them has been terrific.”
Now, though, it’s all about Amesbury.
After the game, the Redhawks were able to hoist the J. Walter Chase trophy — which turned 50 years old today — high. But next week, the Redhawks will have a chance at history.
A perfect season, and a Super Bowl title, are only 48 minutes away.
“I think just it’s the bond we have as a group, and we have such fantastic coaches that it’s all sort of come together,” said Kirby. “I can’t say enough about all of my teammates, and the coaches have just been incredible.”
Added DeLong: “All of us seniors have played together since we were freshmen. We have a bond that you really can’t break. We’ve got Justin Dube leading the offense, I mean, he’s doing things that I’ve never seen before. And then defensively, we started off the year a little iffy, but we’ve been able to put it together.
“This year is the year, we want to be a historical team.”