TEWKSBURY – For Haverhill High, it wasn’t just the turnovers on Friday night. It was how Tewksbury High made the Hillies pay for them.
The Redmen, fueled by a pair of Haverhill fumbles and an interception, broke open a tight 8-6 game in the second quarter with a 20-point flurry before the break on the way to a 42-14 win here at Doucette Stadium.
“Turnovers will kill you. We have to pay more attention to detail and protect the ball,” said Haverhill coach Rob Pike. “It’s something we practice, but not enough. It’s an important part of the game.
“We played badly. We have to execute things. We had too many turnovers, and we couldn’t stop them when we needed to.”
For the Hillies, there was a bit of disappointment knowing opportunity was there against a quality Merrimack Valley Conference foe.
Plays needed to be made in this battle of two of the region’s premier signal callers. Both Tewksbury’s Vinnie Ciancio and the Hillies’ James Farrell (21-33-1, 227 yards, 2 TDs) had their moments.
Ciancio had an ace up his sleeve in the form of the running game with halfbacks Emeka Olu and Manny Mengata, who chewed up the Hillies for 152 yards and three TDs on 20 carries before their night ended late in the third.
Farrell threw TDs of 49 yards to Jathian DeJesus and 25 yards to Brandon Piraino, but the lack of a Haverhill rushing attack (Farrell ran 12 times for 43 yards, everyone else ran 6 times for -2 yards) combined with the turnover woes spelled doom for the 1-1 Hillies.
“(Tewksbury coach Brian Aylward) has been at this a long time. He does an awesome job. They have great culture, and they’re one of the premier teams in the MVC every year,” said Pike. “We knew they were going to be tough. It’s just frustrating when you don’t play your best.”
Piraino finished his night with eight catches for 77 yards, and DeJesus had four for 63.
The Hillies get back at it next week against Stoneham.
Tewksbury 42, Haverhill 14
T — Ben Christopher 8 pass from Vinnie Ciancio (Emeka Olu rush)
H — Jathian DeJesus 49 pass from James Farrell (rush failed)
T — Manny Mengata 1 run (Jackson Feudo kick)
T — Jake Burns 24 pass from Ciancio (Feudo kick)
T — Christopher 40 hook and lateral pass from Ciancio through Johnny Sullivan (kick wide)
T — Olu 18 run (Feudo kick)
T — Christopher 71 pass from Ciancio (Feudo kick)
H — Brandon Piraino 25 pass from Farrell (Farrell to DeJesus pass)