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LOWELL — During halftime last night, Whittier Tech head coach Kevin Bradley was visited by young sons Connor and Kevin Jr. But they were not there to simply say hello.

“My sons came to me with a play,” Bradley said with a proud smile. “They said, ‘Dad, I think this will be open and (quarterback) Dillon (Ryan) can do it.’ They are around all the time and know all the plays. They just adore the team.”

LOWELL — Following yesterday’s Division 3A semifinal, no one had more praise for Whittier Tech than Amesbury football coach Thom Connors.

“That is a great team,” said Connors. “They are in the postseason all the time, three of the last four years. The ball bounced our way, but they played tough. They are a great program.”

LOWELL — One thing jumped out at Kevin Bradley during preparations for last night’s Division 3A semifinal game — Amesbury feasts on turnovers.

“After watching several games of theirs on film, I noticed (Amesbury) forces a big fumble or interception that costs the other team the game,” the Whittier Tech head coach observed. “They have a good veteran defense and you can’t make mistakes. All season, they made teams pay the price.”

AMESBURY — With the latest chapter of the Newburyport vs. Amesbury rivalry complete, we are left to wonder about the legacy each school’s senior class will leave.

Fair or not, Thanksgiving is the day when heroes are made on the high school football circuit. Amesbury captain Steve Serwon will always be remembered for sparking Thanksgiving Day upsets in 2006 and 2007 with defensive touchdowns. Indians quarterback Jared Flannigan will always be thought of as the game manager who took care of the football and kept the chains moving in victories in 2007 and 2008.

With a win, Newburyport would capture the wild CAL Small race and go to the playoffs. If Amesbury wins and gets a few breaks it could win the tie-breaker on the three-way tie.

This is one of the biggest showdowns in the modern history of this storied rivalry. With a win, Newburyport would capture the wild Cape Ann League Small race and go to the playoffs. If Amesbury wins and gets a few breaks it could win the tie-breaker on the three-way tie.

AMESBURY — The Amesbury football team wasn't ready to put on its Newburyport hat just yet following its fourth straight victory last evening.

The Indians (8-1) scored touchdowns on five of its six offensive possessions in a 35-13 victory over Hamilton-Wenham at Landry Stadium. The Indians improved to 3-1 in the Cape Ann League Small with the lone loss coming to Georgetown Oct. 11. The Royals (7-0, 4-0) and Newburyport (4-5, 4-0) are the lone teams in the CAL Small without a league loss. Those teams face off next Friday evening at World War Memorial Stadium. For the Indians to win the league, they will need Newburyport to beat Georgetown, and then they will need to beat Newburyport on Thanksgiving Day.

"I'm just worried about North Reading next week," Amesbury coach Thom Connors said in reference to his team's Thanksgiving tune-up with North Reading (4-4, 1-2) next Saturday. "We can only worry about the things we can control. I've been saying that for weeks. We'll let the cards fall where they may, and we'll play the hand we're dealt. That's all we can do."

The Indians captured the CAL Small title last fall with a Thanksgiving Day defeat of Newburyport. Amesbury middle linebacker Steve Serwon is not yet concerned with playing for similar stakes in a few weeks.

"We're not thinking about Newburyport, because we can't control what they do," Serwon said. "We don't even think about that. We just do what we do."

Last evening, Amesbury's running game was the key in its near-perfect offensive execution. Senior tailback Kevin Johnston had 15 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jared Flannigan added eight carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jesse Burrell brought the power running game, logging 10 carries for 57 yards.

Hamilton-Wenham also had success running the ball, abandoning the spread offense the team had executed in the previous three games. K.C. Collier had 11 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. He had seven carries for 53 and a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, before he left the game for the entire second quarter with a leg injury.

Stephen Dangora added 20 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown for Hamilton. His second-quarter touchdown narrowed Amesbury's lead to 14-13 with 2:17 remaining in the second quarter.

Amesbury responded with a seven-play, 55-yard scoring drive that only took 1:05. Flannigan finished off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Johnston, who also had two 2-point conversions on the evening.

"That touchdown before the half was huge," Connors said. "We didn't play poorly in the first half. They came in with a game-plan to smash right at us. We had to counter their toughness, and we did, but it wasn't an easy victory by any means. They played as well as they could play. Our offense needed to score as much as it did just to counter their toughness."

The Amesbury football team avoided fourth-drama last evening for the first time in four weeks. The Indians (7-1 overall, 2-1 Cape Ann League Small) cruised to a 31-13 victory over winless Ipswich (0-7, 0-4).

AMESBURY —The Amesbury football team appeared doomed last evening at halftime of a Cape Ann League Small matchup with bottom-feeder Lynnfield.

Not only did the Indians trail 12-0, but quarterback/safety Jared Flannigan’s second-half return appeared questionable after he missed all but nine seconds of the closing 9:21 of the first half due to a head injury.

WEST NEWBURY — Simply a classic.

Pentucket and Amesbury brought its "A" games yesterday and the 500 fans in attendance were the grateful beneficiaries. Unloading its playbooks and making quality adjustments, the game rightfully went into overtime where timely defense and Bill Medvitz’s 24-yard field goal led to an emotional 24-21 Indian triumph.