Those close losses can sting like no other, but this one packed more of a wallop because it knocked the Manchester Essex football team out of the Div. 7 playoff mix.
A couple of weeks ago, the Hornets played a tight game against Lynnfield before the Pioneers pulled away late to win. On November 1, Manchester Essex couldn’t quite get over the hump to end the regular season finale on a winning note, falling to Amesbury, 14-16.
But those games were during the tail end of a pretty good regular season, and the Hornets had played well throughout the fall to earn the ninth seed in the MIAA Div. 7 tournament. The hope was that the team could put the close losses behind them with the end of the regular season and build anew against ninth-seeded Gardner in the Sweet 16. Unfortunately, history repeated itself again and Manchester Essex ended up on the wrong end of another heartbreaker, falling 28-27 to the Wildcats in the MIAA Div. 7 Sweet 16 playoff bracket on November 8.
“It was a tough one for sure,” says Manchester Essex football coach Joe Grimes. “it was a back-and-forth slugfest for most of the game.”
The Hornets took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter thanks to Gabe Magee’s 19-yard touchdown run. Nick Glass added to the ME lead with a 26-yard field goal in the second, but the momentum shifted a bit after Gardner’s Ayden Sparrow returned a kickoff 92 yards for the touchdown. It didn’t help that quarterback Zach Hurd was hurt after scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run near the end of the half. It was up to Nick Glass to help lead the Hornets after the intermission.
“Our starting QB Zach Hurd got hurt just before halftime and had to miss the whole second half,” explains Grimes. “Our upperclassmen leaders had to rally around our freshman QB Nick Glass and they did a remarkable job. Nick has done a terrific job all year in a backup capacity and he was not fazed by the importance of what was asked of him. Our older guys stepped up and Nick played his butt
off in the second half and we were able to move the ball pretty well.”
That included an eight-yard touchdown pass to Noah Cohen in the third and a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth. However, the Wildcats outscored the Hornets in the second half 20-12, and Manchester Essex wasn’t able to convert on any of its four two-point conversion attempts in the game, resulting in the final difference.
“It didn’t go our way today but it was a heck of a football game,” says Grimes. “My guys certainly rose to the challenge physically and mentally, but just came up a little short. Our defensive line -- Walker Valeo, Cian Brennock, Caiden Brennock, Jarrett Croft -- had their best games of the season recording double digit sacks and giving the Gardner QB fits all night. Zach Hurd, Noah Cohen and Gabe Magee led the way on offense.”
The loss knocks the Hornets out of the playoff bracket and into consolation play. Manchester Essex will face St. Mary’s on November 14 in Lynn (6 p.m.) before heading to Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical on Thanksgiving Day for the traditional holiday matchup between the two squads.
