Can’t say I’m a huge fan of covering football in the rain, and for the third week in a row, that will likely be the case tonight.
What difference does it make, you say? Let me take you back to a game I covered three seasons ago.
It was Manchester Essex at Shawsheen on a cold October night, and the rain was coming down hard. What should have been a 20-minute drive to Shawsheen took over an hour thanks to the fact that everyone in New England had forgotten how to drive.
So I showed up to the field right before kickoff, and there was no room in the press box. That left me charting plays on the sideline in no less than a foot of mud. My notebook was getting soaked, and my pen was running all over the drenched steno pages.
By the end of the first quarter, my pen had stopped working, and I had nothing dry to write on.
Just before halftime, an older gentleman walked over and introduced himself as a freelancer from the Lowell Sun. The man, maybe 60-years-old, showed me his notebook, which he kept in a clear zip-lock bag to keep the rain away from his stats. Then he showed me a pencil, which had no ink capable of running on a page, and said, “Tricks of the trade, son. You’ll learn.”
Needless to say I’ll have a pencil, zip-lock bag and notebook ready for tonight. And I’ll see if I can find a struggling, younger reporter who’s soaked on the sideline, so I can give him the halftime stats just like that Lowell Sun reporter did for me three years ago.
Onto the picks.
Tonight’s games
North Andover (5-2) at Newburyport (5-2), 7 p.m.
Newburyport’s Thanksgiving Day-showdown with Amesbury is the most exciting remaining game on the schedule. But tonight’s matchup with North Andover may be Newburyport’s toughest remaining game. The Scarlet Knights are a tough to team to figure. They opened the season by getting smoked by Andover and edged by Hamilton-Wenham. Then they gave up 27 points to winless Ipswich. What they’ve done since | wins over North Reading, Triton, Lynnfield and Pentucket | is impressive. This will come down to the last five minutes. But I like Ed Gaudiano to earn his 127th career victory, passing Jim Stehlin for most coaching wins in program history.
Final score: Newburyport 21, North Andover 20
Amesbury (2-4) at Masconomet (7-0), 7 p.m.
Amesbury is exactly the type of team that could upset Masconomet. A common theme for Amesbury all season has been its inability to play four complete quarters. At the beginning of the year, the Indians would fade in the second half after taking an early lead. Last week, they waited until the fourth quarter to bring their “A” game against Hamilton-Wenham. Inconsistency is never a characteristic of a team that exceeds expectations for an entire season. But inconsistent teams are always capable of that one huge upset that leaves its fans shaking their heads while saying things like, “Where was this performance last week?”
Final score: Masconomet 28, Amesbury 22
Hamilton-Wenham (3-3) at Triton (1-6), 7 p.m.
In typical Triton fashion, the Vikings played a far-superior Wilmington squad extremely tough for four quarters last week and came out on the short end of the stick. What’s typical about that? The Vikings haven’t played a single lackadaisical down all season. They may get down early, but they never stop fighting. I’ll say this: This is exactly the groundwork that needs to be set for a team to become a winner. It won’t happen for Triton this year. And it may not happen next year. But when an entire team is playing this hard on a week-to-week basis, regardless of the score, that team will eventually reap the benefits. Keep working hard, Triton.
Final score: Hamilton-Wenham 20, Triton 7
Georgetown (5-1) at Northeast Metro Tech (1-6), 7 p.m.
I was shocked when I saw that Northeast beat Manchester Essex last week. That had to be the upset of the year | a winless Northeast squad beating defending league champion Manchester Essex in what looked, on paper, ike a route. If I would’ve set a line on that game, I would have had Manchester Essex favored by 35. No exaggeration. So the Royals should thank their Thanksgiving Day foe, Manchester Essex, for reminding them they must beat the Northeasts of the world to make that Turkey Day showdown mean something.
Final score: Georgetown 38, Northeast 6
Tomorrow’s gamesLynnfield (2-5) at Pentucket (5-2), 1:30 p.m.
Credit North Andover for doing last week what no other team has been able to do this season: Stop Sachems senior Nate Bunnell. Yeah, the 205-pound fullback rushed for over 100 yards, but he was kept out of the end zone. That’s a large feat considering he had 16 touchdowns through the first six games. Something tells me he’ll make up for lost time this week.
Final score: Pentucket 41, Lynnfield 14
Governor’s Academy (5-0) at Milton Academy (4-1), 7 p.m.
This should actually be a good game for the Govs, which is something they haven’t had this season. And while we’re here, Milton was founded in 1798 but ceased operations several decades later. The institution reopened in 1884. Until 1980, it was split into a boys and girls school. Famous alumni include Deval Patrick, James Taylor, T.S. Eliot and Robert F. Kennedy.
Final score: Governor’s Academy 21, Milton Academy 14
Last week’s record: 4-2
Overall record: 24-10
