MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Five first-half touchdowns and seven takeaways for the Manchester-Essex Hornets (3-2) tells the tale of Lynn Tech’s (3-2) 63-22 loss on Friday night.
Things looked good for the Tigers on their first drive, as both the passing and rushing attack led them to their opponents two-yard line. However, a fumbled snap was a sign of things to come as the Hornets took possession and ran away with the game.
Following the fumble recovery, the Hornets drove 98 yards, capped off by a Stephen Martin (70 yards, 1 touchdown) four-yard score and Quinn Brady’s (43 yards, 3 touchdowns) two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead.
In the ensuing possession, things went from bad to worse for the Tigers, as a blocked punt put the Hornets 33 yards away from the end zone. Hornets’ quarterback Zach Hurd (162 passing yards, 3 total touchdowns) threw his first touchdown of the night on a beautiful back corner ball to Preston Potter (6 catches, 121 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception) to take a 16-0 lead in the first quarter.
Hurd and Potter’s chemistry was on full display, as another Hornets fumble recovery led to the second touchdown connection between the two stars (24-0).
It was the Hornets defense making plays yet again on Lynn Tech’s next drive when a botched trick play ended in a scoop and score by Troy Flood to push the score to 32-0.
Lynn Tech’s quarterback Jadiel Ortega was able to find the endzone for the Tigers to cut the lead down to 24 after a 65-yard drive. But, the Hornets responded in a hurry, as Brady found the end zone to take a 40-8 lead going into the half.
The Tigers showed signs of life in the third quarter, using a massive game on the ground by Cesar Reyes (136 yards) to find a pair of scores. Two interceptions from Tech’s defense helped its comeback attempt, as it cut the lead to just 18 in a 40-22 game.
But the comeback dream was shut down by the Hornets defense in the fourth quarter. Their consistent pressure on Ortega turned into four more takeaways and three more touchdowns.
An interception early in the fourth quarter set Hurd for a two-yard scramble score, and Jarrett Croft took a fumble and returned it 32 yards to set up Brady’s second touchdown of the day (56-22).
Manchester Essex’s defense found its seventh and final takeaway of the night, as Ortega’s third interception allowed Brady to find the endzone for the third time from 23 yards, and put an exclamation on the Hornet’s victory.
The Hornets defensive presence was too strong for Tech, as Manchester-Essex took the win by a final score of 63-22.
The Tigers will look to bounce back when they host Lowell Catholic next Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
