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Manchester, Georgetown

MANCHESTER—The Manchester Essex Regional High School football team put Friday’s Cape Ann League Baker opener against Georgetown out of reach early.
The Hornets came flying out of the gates with three, first-quarter touchdowns and that was more than enough to put away Thanksgiving Day rival Georgetown by a score of 34-0 at Hyland Field.
With the win the Hornets improve to 2-1 on the season, 1-0 in the CAL while Georgetown falls to 0-3.
Manchester Essex set the tone right off the bat, forcing a punt on the Royals’ first drive and responding with a three-play, 54-yard drive culminating with a Chris Carr 21-yard touchdown run. Jack Hennigan’s two-point conversion made it 8-0 Hornets just four minutes into the game.
After forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing Georgetown possession, led by a sack from Andrew Hantzopolous and Noah Rawson, the Manchester Essex offense went right back to work. This time it took seven plays to drive 62 yards and a Nick DiPietro 7-yard run extended the lead to 14-0 in the middle of the opening frame.
The Hornets got the ball back again late in the quarter and scored again, this time on a 28-yard pass from quarterback Charlie Otterbein to Jake Rich in the back of the end zone on 4th-and-9 to make it 21-0 after the opening frame.
The Royals, however, made some strong defensive adjustments making it tough on the Manchester Essex offense from there. Skyler Odle and Daniel Lavelle led the Georgetown defense.
Manchester Essex did not score again until the fourth quarter when Hennigan punched it in from two yards out to make it 28-0 with just over seven minutes to play.
Rob Sarmanian capped off the scoring in the middle of the fourth quarter with a 39-yard touchdown run to make it 34-0.
The Hornets are back in CAL Baker action next Saturday when they travel to Hamilton-Wenham (2 p.m.).
It’s been a frustrating beginning to the 2015 season for the Royals as the team has failed to be competitive in each of its first three games. Georgetown will look to improve this Friday night when it hosts Amesbury (0-3).