RallyNorth.net

Fri, Nov 14, 2014 07:00 PM @ North Andover

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Haverhill	0	7	0	6	13
North Andover	0	7	7	14	28

Inspired by ailing legend, Knights beat Hillies for North title

NORTH ANDOVER — Bubba Shkliew removed his helmet to show a face smeared with eye black, sweat and a few tears and stopped for a moment on the Walsh Stadium turf to took around absorb the emotion that filled the field.

“I have been dreaming of this for so long,” said Shkliew. “I had to stop and just soak in everything. There were times even I didn’t know if it would ever happen. But this team and these coaches just wanted it so much, and now we are champions. It is honestly unbelievable.”

Last night, the dynamic Shkliew and his North champion North Andover teammates had plenty to celebrate.

In the biggest game of their lives, the Scarlet Knights excellent on both sides of the ball on the way to defeating Haverhill 28-13 in the Division 2 North title game.

“There is nothing better than this in the world,” said surprise hero Jukka Morales. “I started to cry. I was just overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to do (after the game). Nothing I have ever been a part of has ever compared to this.”

The Knights now advance to the Division 2 state semifinals on Saturday against South champion Marshfield (9-1). The game will be played at Brockton High School — a neutral site — with the time still TBA.

The winner earns a berth in the Division 2 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.

“Simply amazing,” said linebacker Jake Burckhardt. “We have worked so hard for this, all those hours in the weight room, and this is why. Haverhill is a great team. We knew it was going to be a tough battle, and that we had to bring it. And we were able to come through.”

It was Haverhill that took the first lead of the game. The Hillies recovered a fumble, and 10 plays later Broghean McGovern dove in on a QB sneak to make it 7-0, the first points the Knights had allowed in 17 quarters.

“We had four straight shutouts so when they scored (line coach) Kevin Slattery pulled us aside,” said Shkliew. “He said to us, ‘What are you going to do? How are you going to face adversity?’ Then we came back and punched them in the mouth.”

Morales quickly turned the tide with his first big play of the game, taking the following kickoff and running it back 44 yards to the Hillie 31-yard line.

Senior running back James Foote — playing with a heavy heart thinking of his brother, Scarlet Knights legend Andrew Foote who is in the hospital in critical condition — tied the game when he plunged in for a 5-yard score.

“They had all of the momentum and we had to change that,” said Foote. “The linemen opened up a huge hole for me and I took it. I have no words to describe the moment. I pointed to the sky for my brother.”

After the two teams exchanged punts to start the second half, the Knights unveiled a Wildcat set with Shkliew at quarterback and Morales at running back, which immediately clicked when Shkliew took a keeper off the right side and scrambled for a 40-yard touchdown late in the third.

“We ran a fake sweep to Morales and I saw (offensive lineman) Yanni Falaras seal the end,” said Shkliew. “There was so much green grass in front of me and I had to score. Then I threw up the (No.) 22 for Foote.”

Haverhill responded with a long drive that Ian Kessel finished off with a 10-yard touchdown. But the Scarlet Knights held onto the lead when the backup kicker, in for injured Patrick Yale, missed the extra point.

That did no not matter, however, as the Knights were not finished. Shkliew ran the kickoff back 40 yards, and Morales followed with a 14-yard touchdown run.

“I could not have done that without Foote,” said Morales, a sophomore. “I will never forget this, he looked at me and told me, ‘Just follow me.’ I followed him into the hole, cut it up and scored the touchdown.”

The Knights then forced a turnover, and erased any dreams of a Hillie rally when Morales broke free for a 30-yard score.

All that was left was to run out the clock, and the Knights are now one game from Gillette Stadium.

“It’s crazy,” said Shkliew. “For everyone who didn’t believe we could do it, we used that. We always said, ‘Silence the doubters.’ Now here we are.”

North Andover 28, Haverhill 13

Haverhill (7-3): 0 7 0  6 — 13

North Andover (8-2): 0 7 7 14 — 28

Division 2 North Final

Second Quarter

H — Broghean mcGovern 1 run (Patrick Yale kick), 2:44

NA — James Foote 5 run (John Boudreau kick), 0:31

Third Quarter

NA —Bubba Shkliew 40 run (Boudreau kick), 2:21

Fourth Quarter

H — Ian Kessel 10 run (kick failed), 7:57

NA — Jukka Morales 14 run (Boudreau kick), 5:54

NA — Morales 30 run (Boudreau kick), 2:48

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: NA (26-178) — Jukka Morales 4-78, Bubba Shkliew 8-54, James Foote 8-40, Breyin Nichols 5-13, Ryan Good 1-4, Seamus Lambert 2-(-11); H (45-228) — Pedro Santiago 13-94, Ian Kessel 14-74, Luc Chretien 12-39, Broghean McGovern 6-21

PASSING: NA — Seamus Lambert 1-4-0, 0; H — McGovern 4-13-0, 30

RECEIVING: NA — Shkliew 1-0; H — Chedozie Onwuka 1-16, Santiago 1-8, Kessel 2-6