RallyNorth.net

Sat, Nov 22, 2014 07:00 PM @ North Andover

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Final
Marshfield	14	6	14	34
North Andover	0	7	8	15

Marshfield, North Andover

BROCKTON — Destined for mediocrity at 3-2 after a stunning upset to Lawrence in Week 5, the North Andover High football team went on to rip of five straight wins and pen an inspirational tale.

 And while the Knights took us all for the amazing ride, Marshfield High had a story just as good and a football team a little bit better.

The Rams, 0-11 just two years ago, knocked off the Knights, 34-15, to move to 10-1 and land a spot in the Dec. 6 Division 2 state final at Gillette Stadium vs. Longmeadow.

Marshfield scored on five of its first six possessions, outgaining North Andover on the night 427-115, in the victory.

"That's just a really good football team," said North Andover coach John Rafferty. "They don't really lack for anything. I was just a tough go.

"But I love my kids. I love these kids. They fought their butts off just to get here, when nobody else out there thought they should. I'm not down on these kids one bit. We're here. We competed. And the long and short of it is they competed all the way through. I'm proud of them."

BEST PLAYER ON THE FIELD

Marshfield junior QB Jack Masterson was better than advertised, at least on this night.

Inching closer to the 2,000-yard mark for yards from scrimmage on the year, he threw two TD passes and ran for the two others — the last being one of the great, gritty four-yard, fourth-and-goal QB keepers you will ever find.

"He's just a great player," said Marshfield coach Lou Silva of his signal-caller. "That last TD wasn't the play we called, that was all him."

At least four Knights had good, clean shots at him, and yet, met at the three, Masterson found the goal line and broke the plane.

A huge, well-mannered yet boisterous North Andover student section gave credit where credit was due after that one, chanting, "Please stop Masterson ... Please stop Masterson!" — the ultimate show of respect.

Marshfield coach Lou Silva called his group a "running team," but with Masterson (9-13-1, 143 yards) out there no secondary is safe.

ON THE KNIGHTS' SIDE

For North Andover, it was just a rough evening overall as Marshfield dictated terms from the opening snap.

Senior Breyin Nichols (16 carries, 42 yards) provided one of the few highlights with a one-yard dive just before halftime, cutting the lead to 20-7 into the half.

Energized, the Knights needed a stop coming out of the break. They didn't get it as Marshfield, reassumed control with four-minute, 12-play, 81-yard TD drive.

"It's always helpful to get something going right before the half,and we thought we had it there," said Rafferty. "We knew we needed a stop and we just coudn't get it."

One final North Andover gasp came on the ensuing kick when Jukka Morales danced and dashed for the 76-yard kick-six on the ensuing play. Again, at 28-13, Marshfield had an answer — Masterson — who capped 59-yard drive with his four-yarder.

ULTIMATE RESPECT FOR BUBBA

Marshfield's game plan on defense started and ended with the tenet that "No 7 is not going to beat us."

The Rams had two men assigned to Knight multi-purpose man Bubba Shkliew, basically on every snap.

"Wherever he went, they bracketed him," said Rafferty.

Shkliew's only mistake this season, it seemed, was that he looked too darn good on film. Silva and his staff spotted Shkliew immediately.

"Oh God, that kid's a player," said Silva. "We had to pay attention to him. We had to limit his touches. We had to limit everything he did.

"He's so smooth. It's the first thing I noticed. There's nothing herky-jerky about him. He must be a track kid. And honestly, we did it because there's no one guy on our team that could stay with him."

In his final game as a Knight, Shkliew ran 9 times for 23 yards and caught one pass for 28 yards. In his dynamic senior campaign, he finishes with 29 catches for 306 yards and 81 rushes for 536 more.

ANDREW FOOTE UPDATE

Word from his father is that Andrew Foote's condition remains critical, although he is showing some better signs. He remains as he has been.

ODDS AND ENDS

Marshfield is a talented bunch and deep, too. The Rams two-platoon largely with just two two-way starters and 18 others who play on just one side of the ball. ... As if all the events of the past weeks didn't prove to you how tough Knights' senior James Foote really is? In punt formation, Foote saw a fourth-quarter snap sail over his head. He tipped it, retrieved it and booted it away, only to take a savage head-to-head shot that was flagged for a personal foul. Foote remained down for a minute or two. But three players later, when needed again, he went out there and blasted his best boot of the night, a towering 44-yarder. ... North Andover, the Division 2 North champ 8-3, ends its season a bit earlier than it might have likes, Thursday morning at home in the last Thanksgiving showdown with former Cape Ann League rival Masconomet.