By Bill Sones — Sports Contributor
The Concord-Carlisle High School gridders lost a 27-24 decision to the North Andover Knights last Friday night, dropping the Patriots to 5-5 on the season. After CC’s initial drive stalled, the Patriots defense came up with stops by senior defensive back Taylor Ladd, sophomore linebacker A.J. Valentine, and freshman linebacker Thomas Bury to stop North Andover near midfield.
The CC offense took it from there with a 14-play, 8-minute drive, including a key fourth down conversion on a 15-yard pass from senior quarterback Matthew Carleton to junior wide receiver Peter Burke. Bury finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to put CC up 7-0 after Ladd’s extra point kick.
The Patriots defense dominated the Knights with big plays by juniors Lewis Simon and Declan MacQueen, forcing North Andover punts on their next two possessions. After a shanked punt gave CC great field position at the Knights’ 39-yard line, freshman quarterback Wes Morse cashed in the opportunity for CC with a 13-yard strike to sophomore tight end Alex Fivek to give the Patriots a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Second-half fireworks
The game tightened in the third quarter as North Andover took over in CC territory after a muffed punt at CC’s 34-yard line. Seven plays later, the Knights cut the lead in half on a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Patriots offense responded and was driving deep into North Andover territory as the third quarter ended. Although the drive stalled, Taylor Ladd’s 26-yard field goal extended CC’s lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter. The Pats’ momentum continued as junior Christian Meyer jumped on a bouncing kick on the ensuing kickoff, helped by junior Wes McGovern’s hustling play.
Four plays after the recovery, Morse and Burke connected on a 31-yard touchdown pass to push CC’s lead back up to 24-7 with only 10:24 left in the contest.
North Andover rallies
It took the Knights only three minutes to answer CC’s score with a 9-play, 59-yard drive that culminated in a 16-yard touchdown scamper to cut CC’s lead to 24-13 with 7:09 left in the contest.
After the Patriots were stopped on the ensuing possession and had to punt, the Knights got back to work. This time, they drove 61 yards in seven plays, including a 32-yard touchdown run, cutting the CC lead to 24-19 when the 2-point conversion attempt failed with 3:32 left in the contest.
After receiving the kickoff, the Patriots offense ran the ball three times to burn time off the clock, but the Knights used all three of their timeouts, and the Patriots punted after only 22 seconds had ticked by.
The Knights crisply moved the ball down the field in 12 plays in less than 3 minutes. They completed their comeback when they found paydirt on a 17-yard touchdown strike in the corner of the end zone to take the lead with only 29 seconds left.
The two-point conversion made the final Knights 27, Patriots 24.
CC’s final game is at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day at Lexington.
