The Manchester Essex football team couldn’t quite keep up in a matchup between two teams featuring elite ground attacks.
Stephen Martin did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Hornets, rushing for 121 yards on 15 attempts to go with a rushing touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to get by Nashoba Valley Tech on September 29. The Vikings went on a few long drives of their own in the rainy weather and were able to outscore Manchester Essex in the second and fourth quarters to defeat the Hornets, 28-16.
“Nashoba came right after us with a 100 percent ground attack and were effective at moving the ball all night,” explains Manchester Essex coach Joe Grimes. “Nashoba is well coached and played tough and I expect them to do some real damage in the Division 8 bracket and/or Voke tournament this fall.”
Martin was able to knot things at 8-8 in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown run, followed by Kevin McKenna’s successful two-point conversion. Nashoba Valley then pulled away after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter, followed by two scores in the fourth. Quarterback Zach Hurd scored on a two-yard run and then successfully converted a two-point conversion to cut into the Vikings’ lead but the Hornets ran out of clock after that.
Quinn Brady led the Hornets in receiving with four receptions and 48 yards through the air – including a 23-yarder, while Hurd was the team’s second-leading rusher with 42 yards on the ground behind Martin.
“On offense, we got gritty performances out of Steve Martin, Quinn Brady and Zach Hurd,” says Grimes.
Up next for the Hornets is fellow Commonwealth Small opponent Lynn Tech on Oct. 6 (6:30 p.m., Hyland Field). The Tigers are 3-1 so far and pose an imposing challenge to 2-2 Manchester Essex.
“We now have our focus onto the next one and trying to get stronger every day,” says Grimes.
Girls Soccer
The girls’ soccer team forged a scoreless tie with Cape Ann League rival Georgetown on Sept. 26, and then lost by a 5-0 score to Newburyport two days later.
It took a little while for the Hornets to get going against Georgetown, but once they did the team was able to control the pace and play of the game for the most part. The only thing missing was a goal to give Manchester Essex the win. Charlotte Crocker had the Hornets’ best shot at making a shot in the first half.
“It was Charlotte Crocker who was closest in the first half, after a quick corner kick play, she found herself just inside the box with space to shoot and was only denied by an excellent save from Georgetown’s goalkeeper,” says Manchester Essex coach Christo Manginis.
The coach lauded the play of Crocker, Tori Moulton, Cia Donohoe and goalkeeper Madi Cook, in addition to the efforts of a handful of other players.
“Meg Hurd created several chances with great runs and crosses from the right, but it was Libby Lawler who looked most likely to grab the winner late in the game,” says Manginis. “She did well to wriggle away from two defenders but her shot from inside the box went just past the far post.”
The girls soccer team was 3-3-3 heading into away games against Cape Ann League rivals Hamilton-Wenham on Oct. 3 and Amesbury on Oct. 5 before heading home to host Lynnfield on Oct. 10 (7 p.m.).
