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Testa carries Knights

NORTH ANDOVER — A dejected North Andover defense walked back to the sidelines after allowing three straight Lynn Classical touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the second quarter.

No matter what was said on that sideline one thing was for certain: Will Testa had enough.

Down 21-6 at that point Testa decided that he was going to put the team on his back. Starting from the five minute mark of the second quarter, he rushed for 185 of his 190 yards and a score to pace the North Andover offense, and the Knights coupled that with a stingy defensive performance in the second half to beat Lynn Classical 30-21 Friday night.

“We knew we had to turn it around in the second half,” said Testa. “Our coaches made some adjustments at halftime to stop their big plays. I need to thank my offensive line. They threw some great blocks and allowed me to get upfield.”

The line did open up big holes for Testa in the second half, but the bruising 5-foot-10 and 190-pound back fought for most of his yards after the initial contact from the defense and provided a great balance between the speed and elusiveness of shifty sophomore back Darren Watson.

The two proved to be the dynamic duo for North Andover (4-5) Friday night, with Testa leading the way with 190 yards on 22 carries while Watson added 106 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.

While Testa powered the Knights in the second half, perhaps the play of the game came at the end of the first frame. Down 21-6 and driving, Watson fumbled a pitch from quarterback Jake McElroy that bounded towards the right sideline. Watson sprinted back and was able to corral it before it went out of bounds, and made the quick decision to throw it to a wide-open Nicholas Tierno for a 23-yard touchdown.

The score put North Andover down only 21-14 at the half, and the Knights were able to drive downfield and score again on Watson’s second TD run of the game on the opening drive of the second half to take the lead.

“I think getting a little momentum and scoring before half mentally was the spark for us,” said North Andover coach John Dubzinski. “We really did a great job in the second half. I thought the O-line did a great job. Will Testa ran very hard and Darren Watson did a great job running as well.”

Testa also wrecked havoc on the defensive side of the ball in the second half along with former linebacker Patrick Quinn and linemen Matthew Farmer. Lynn Classical only mustered 73 yards of total offense in the second half, but more importantly for the Knights did not put up any points.

With four minutes left in the fourth, Testa capped off a 7-play, 43-yard drive with a 3-yard run and then carried a pile of Rams defenders with him into the end zone on the conversion attempt to make it a 30-21 game.

Lynn Classical drove inside the North Andover 10-yard-line on its last drive, but was stuffed on a fourth down run that ended the game. The Knights have won both of their non-playoff games over Lynn Classical and Lynn English.

“It’s awesome,” said Testa. “Every week we come out to win. We work hard all week and our goal is to win every win.”