Yup, business was absolutely taken care of in this one.
After a hard-fought, emotional win over rival North Reading a week ago, there was no letdown for Amesbury on Friday night. It was a dominant performance in all three phases for the Redhawks, who stayed undefeated on the year after going on the road and blasting Ipswich, 47-7.
Amesbury (7-0) came into the game ranked No. 2 in Division 7, and certainly lived up to that status.
It was a balanced game offensively all around for the Redhawks, but Joe Celia accounted for three first-half touchdowns to help his team build a 32-0 lead at the break. He caught a 13-yard TD pass from Justin Dube to open the scoring, then found the end zone on runs of 5 and 3 yards in the second quarter. A 60-yard interception return from Dube — who would later kick his second PAT of the season — would make it 32-0.
Amesbury would then get touchdown runs from John Taber and Joe Puleo in the third quarter. Celia led the team on the ground with 84 yards on just seven carries, and both Connor Scialdone (6-73) and Puleo (8-60) had solid days as well.
Up next, Amesbury has a big game to end the regular season. The Redhawks will travel up to Manchester Essex (6-1) on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. kickoff, and currently, the Hornets are just three spots below them in the Div. 7 rankings at No. 5.
Amesbury 47, Ipswich 7
Amesbury (7-0): 8 24 15 0 — 47
Ipswich (1-6): 0 0 0 7 — 7
First Quarter
A — Joe Celia 13 pass from Justin Dube (Joe Puleo run)
Second Quarter
A — Celia 5 run (Puleo run)
A — Dube 60 interception return (Celia run)
A — Celia 3 run (John Taber run)
Third Quarter
A — Taber 5 run (Dube kick)
A — Puleo 28 run (Tommy Mitchell run)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: AMESBURY (28-256): Joe Celia 7-84, Connor Scialdone 6-73, Joe Puleo 8-60, Ben Wood 2-13, John Taber 3-12, Justin Dube 2-10
PASSING: A — Dube 2-3-1-0, 39
RECEIVING: A — Ethan Kirby 1-26, Celia 1-13