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Strong second half gets Hornets past Royals

Thursday, November, 24 By Matt Burke
Staff writer

GEORGETOWN – Manchester Essex’s defense looked mighty suspect on the first play from scrimmage but was impenetrable after that.

The Hornets held Georgetown to just seven points in a 28-7 Thanksgiving Day victory.

Royals receiver Niko Edwards, who was returning from an MCL injury, caught a Tyler Wade pass off a slant pattern and galloped 52 yards to the Manchester Essex 1-yard line just seconds into the game. Edwards, however, came up limp and did not return.

Georgetown (1-10) capitalized on Edward’s reception as Wade scored on a keeper. The upset-minded Royals led 7-6 heading into halftime.

The Hornets (5-6) looked like a transformed squad in the second half behind the running of quarterback Cory Burnham (30 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs on the day) and running back Chris Dumont (15 carries, 103 yards, 1 TD), as they avoided the offensive penalties that plagued them in the opening half.

Burnham found a gaping hole on the left side of the line with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter and took it to the house untouched to give the visitors a 12-7 advantage.

The muddied Burnham added a 1-yard TD plunge early in the fourth.

Georgetown received strong defensive efforts from the graduating Wade and Scott Perry, who had a second quarter interception.

“We missed on some opportunities to take a bigger lead into the half, so that was tough,” first-year Georgetown head coach Paul Sobolewski said. “But there are some things we can build on that we saw out there. We were an undermanned squad this year but there were some small accomplishments along the way. I do think we have a bright future.”

The entire roster will return for the Royals in the fall of 2012, save for Wade and fellow senior Mike Bjork.

Manchester Essex leads the overall series 28-24. Georgetown leads the holiday series 11-10 but has lost four of the last five.