ARLINGTON — The Amesbury High caravan to Gillette Stadium will have to wait at least another year.
The school’s Cinderella football story ended with a 19-16 loss to Greater Lawrence last night in the EMass. Division 3A semifinal. The Indians fell one game short of playing in Saturday’s Division 3 Super Bowl matchup at the home of the New England Patriots in Foxboro.
Amesbury’s first-ever postseason appearance ended in dramatic fashion with Indians senior Jameson Wheeler missing a potential game-tying 32-yard field goal attempt into the wind with 1:57 remaining. Wheeler wasn’t to blame, though; he had converted a 31-yard field goal — a rarity in high school football — in the second quarter.
The Indians led through three quarters, holding their biggest margin (16-7) at halftime. But the locals appeared to run out of gas after the break, which may have been understandable for a team playing in its first playoff game in program history five days after a Turkey Day upset over archrival Newburyport.
“No one expected us to be here,” Indians coach Thom Connors said. “We won all of the games we had to win when they counted. I was thinking we could do the same thing (last night), but we couldn’t hold on.”
Amesbury’s loss marked the end of the fall sports season for local schools. But the football season will be remembered for the way the Indians changed the complexion of the River Rival scene.
Historically Newburyport’s inferior, the Indians beat their nemesis Thanksgiving morning with the Cape Ann League title at stake. It was the first CAL title in the Amesbury program’s history and only the 34th Amesbury victory in the 85-year history of the rivalry.
Over the past 40 years, the Newburyport Clippers have amassed five Super Bowl titles in seven appearances as well as 13 Cape Ann League titles. Amesbury, a team with no Super Bowl titles or appearances to its name, earned its first CAL title since 1988 this season.
“This season put the Amesbury program on the map,” Connors said. “We have our entire backfield and most of our offensive line back next season. Our defense will be about the same. Hopefully, we’ll build on this.”
Connors took over the Amesbury program in 2002 after serving as an assistant under current Clippers coach Ed Gaudiano. The Indians were 0-11 in his first season but have gone 23-31 since. They are 10-11 over the last two seasons.
“We’re the first team in school history to make the playoffs,” Amesbury quarterback Jared Flannigan said. “We’ll hold our heads high.”
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