EAST BOSTON — The Amesbury football team's defense has been a consistent source of frustration for coach Thom Connors this season.
Following a 42-26 loss to East Boston at Sartori Stadium last evening, Connors admitted he's nearly reached his breaking point.
"We played as poorly as I can ever remember us playing," Connors said. "That was the worst defensive performance we've ever had. I don't know of a time when we've played worse. We didn't tackle, we didn't make plays, we didn't line up right. To (our players') defense, we had young guys out there."
The Indians (1-2) didn't force a single East Boston punt. The Jets (2-1) scored touchdowns on seven of their nine offensive series. On one of the two offensive series that did not result in a touchdown, the Jets drove to the Amesbury 2-yard-line before time expired in the first half.
East Boston did the majority of its damage on the ground. Three Jet running backs — Kyle Jimenez Fox (11 carries, 140 yards), Brandon Campbell (11 carries, 122 yards, 1 touchdown) and Andre Rickerson (8 carries, 106 yards, 5 touchdowns) — rushed for at least 100 yards. It's never a good day when an opposing team's running back averages 13.3 yards per carry, logs 106 yards, scores five touchdowns, and he is his team's third leading rusher.
The Indians put together three touchdown drives of their own; each culminated with a Matt Enaire touchdown run. Enaire, a senior captain, finished with nine carries for 48 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the team in receiving, catching four passes for 45 yards. However, Enaire did fumble following a 25-yard pass on Amesbury's second play from scrimmage. East Boston recovered and broke a scoreless tie three plays later when Campbell scored a 3-yard run.
Amesbury junior Dalante Castle had 12 carries for 86 yards. He also intercepted a two-point conversion passing attempt from East Boston quarterback Anthony Whitney. Amesbury defensive back Tyler Lay also intercepted a Whitney pass in the first quarter.
Lay, who also plays quarterback, had a much more efficient passing day than last week, when he was 0 for 10 passing with an interception in a 42-6 loss to North Andover. This week, he completed 7 of 12 passes for 110 yards.
The final score is actually somewhat misleading; Amesbury never seemed to threaten. The Indians never led and trailed by scores of 14-3 in the first quarter, 22-11 at halftime, 30-11 in the third quarter, and 36-18 in the fourth.
In addition to Enaire's lost fumble, Lay also turned the ball over on a failed pitch to Castle in the second quarter. Last evening, Amesbury needed to be nearly perfect on offense to come out with a victory.
Such has been the theme for Amesbury this season.
The Indians have allowed 84 points in their last two games and 105 in their last three. Their average of 35.0 point allowed per game is the highest in the Cape Ann League.
The Indians have been without their defensive leader, Ian McLaughlin, since the first half of their opening night victory over Triton. McLaughlin banged knees with another player and has missed the last 10 quarters of action. He will have an MRI on his knee today.
"We're down a few players," Connors said. "Hopefully, we'll get guys back and put this one behind us. But that's not an excuse, either. We can do much better with the guys that played (last night). We stopped ourselves on offense, and we just didn't play well. I have no excuses. We didn't play like we practice."
East Boston 42, Amesbury 26
at Sartori Stadium, East Boston
Amesbury3878—26
East Boston148812—42
First Quarter
EB — Brandon Campbell 3-yard run (Campbell reception from Anthony Whitney), 8:01.
A — Nick Croce 24-yard field goal, 3:44.
EB - Andre Rickerson 7-yard run (Whitney pass failed), 2:25.
Second Quarter
A — Matt Enaire 1-yard run (Tyler Lay run), 8:11.
EB — Rickerson 3-yard run (Campbell run), 5:49.
Third Quarter
EB — Rickerson 2-yard run (Whitney run), 4:21.
A — Enaire 2-yard run (Croce kick), 1:40.
Fourth Quarter
EB — Rickerson 10-yard run (Whitney pass intercepted), 8:25.
A — Enaire 1-yard run (Lay run), 3:01.
EB — Rickerson 17-yard run (Maicol Restrepo run failed), 2:12.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Amesbury — Dalante Castle 12-86; Enaire 9-48-3; Lay 5-13; Matthew Talbot 3-21; Thomas Connors Jr. 2-17; Jeff Fortuna 1-15; Carl Collin 1-8; Evan King 1-3; Jesse Lannon 1-2; Patrick Wilson 1-(6); East Boston — Kyle Jimenez-Fox 11-140, Campbell 11-122-1; Rickerson 8-106-5, Whitney 3-1; Jose Herrera 1-4; Restrepo 1-(3).
Passing: Amesbury — Lay 7-12-110-0-0; Whitney 2-5-51-0-2.
Receiving: Amesbury — Enaire 4-45; Castle 1-40; Croce 1-16; Tim Williams 1-9; East Boston — Campbell 1-45; Rickerson 1-6.
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