RallyNorth.net

Sat, Sep 21, 2019 01:30 PM @ Tewksbury

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Methuen	7	13	0	6	26
Tewksbury	7	7	0	0	14

Bryant has huge day to help Coach Ryan earn first win over former club Tewksbury

Saturday, September, 21 By Kyle Gaudette

TEWKSBURY - Tom Ryan's next vacation in Wells, Maine is going to be a whole lot sweeter now.

The Methuen coach often times heads up I-95 for a little R&R with good friend and Tewksbury coach Brian Aylward during their down time. Ryan lives in Tewksbury, and was the defensive coordinator for the Redmen under Aylward. But for the past seven years - ever since Ryan started patrolling the Rangers sideline - he's never had the bragging rights.

That all changed Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to a heroic day from quarterback Connor Bryant, Methuen finally overcame the bugaboo that is Tewksbury, earning a 26-14 win. It was the first win for Ryan over his former team, and the first time the Rangers had beaten the Redmen since 2010.

"That vacation's definitely going to be a lot sweeter," joked Ryan after the game.

Someone who certainly earned a vacation after Saturday was Bryant. The senior was a perfect 10 for 10 through the air for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and added 187 yards on 24 carries on the ground with two more scores.

In fact, the whole offensive line deserves a vacation for the holes they opened for Bryant. In typical Ryan fashion, he was sure to deflect the praise to his players, especially linemen like Lesly Theodore, Jordan Duran and Sam Kalivas, after the emotional win.

"(Bryant) is tough as nails," said Ryan, whose team moved to 2-0. "He's sneaky. He doesn't look fast, but all of a sudden he's breaking stuff. His game speed and his game knowledge, he's an amazing player for us. But we have a lot of good players. We have a lot of guys that work hard and sucked it up today."

Tewksbury (1-1) had been a House of Horrors for Methuen.

Last year, the Rangers led by nine with under five minutes left but ended up falling 31-30. Two years ago, another late touchdown gave the Redman a 22-19 win.

And for a few minutes, it looked like Methuen was heading toward Heartbreak Hill again.

The Rangers led 20-14 with five minutes left and were about to get the ball back after another strong defensive stand, but a muffed punt gave the Redmen possession and great field position.

Here we go again.

But Anthony Romano came up with a huge sack on third down, then a heave to the end zone on fourth down was picked off by Kareem Coleman. Bryant took over from there, running 10 out of 11 plays for 76 yards to lead the Rangers down the field.

His 1-yard plunge into the end zone with 1:59 left capped his fantastic day and all but sealed the game. The Redmen drove down to the Rangers' 25-yard-line, but a Romano pick was the clincher.

"That was great," said Coleman. "Last year we came up short, so this year we told ourselves we can't come up short anymore. We were tired of losing."

Coleman caught touchdown passes of 50 and 30 yards from Bryant in the first half which helped the Rangers take a 20-14 lead at the break. In the second half, Methuen's defense made three separate stops on fourth down to keep Tewksbury off the scoreboard.

Linemen Josiah Concepcion made a big tackle for loss and, on one particular fourth down, Ben Cadet leaped to bat the ball away from Tewksbury sparkplug Shane Aylward in the end zone.

"I was a little nervous before the game because Tewksbury's always a good team," said Bryant. "But we've grinded a lot and thought about this game all year, so it was a good win."

Up next for Methuen is a home game against Lowell Saturday at 1 p.m.

And up next for Bryant is a couple of days of ice baths.

"I'm hurting a little, a little sore," smiled Bryant after the game. "But I'm just happy for my boys going out there and getting a win."

BUCKING THE TREND

Methuen football broke a 7-game losing streak against Tewksbury on Saturday.

YEAR     SCORE     WINNER

2019     26-14     Methuen

2018     31-30     Tewksbury

2017     22-19     Tewksbury

2016     21-0     Tewksbury

2015     DNP

2014     34-6     Tewksbury

2013     41-14     Tewksbury

2012     34-14     Tewksbury

2011     26-24     Tewksbury

2010     48-29     Methuen

 

Methuen 26, Tewksbury 14

Methuen (2-0):     7 13 0 6 - 26

Tewksbury (1-1):     7  7 0 0 - 14

First Quarter

M - Connor Bryant 2 run (Bryan Jacinto kick), 6:45

T - Shane Aylward 70 kickoff return (Tyler Keough kick), 6:32

Second Quarter

T - Kalu Olu 15 run (Keough kick), 9:12

M - Kareem Coleman 50 pass from Bryant (Jacinto kick), 6:47

M - Coleman 30 pass from Bryant (kick failed), 2:47

Fourth Quarter

M - Bryant 1 run (run failed), 1:59

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: METHUEN (37-272): Connor Bryant 24-187, Kareem Coleman 2-40, Matt Martino 6-34, Zac Bergeron 5-11, TEWKSBURY (22-114): Shane Aylward 8-55, Kalu Olu 7-30, Kyle Darrigo 5-19, Tyler Keough 1-16, Ryne Rametta 1-(-6)

PASSING: METHUEN - Bryant 10-10-0, 145; TEWKSBURY - Rametta 6-17-2, 87

RECEIVING: METHUEN - Coleman 3-91, Martino 4-30, Joey Pinto 1-21, Bergeron 1-3, Anthony Romano 1-0; TEWKSBURY - Aylward 4-71, keough 2-16