Employing a stifling defense, the Newton North football team blanked Bay State Conference foe , 21-0, Saturday afternoon at Dickinson Stadium.
“The defensive coaches did a great job of getting the kids working and playing lower,” said Tigers coach Peter Capodilupo. “Low usually wins and we played very low today. I was very happy with that.”
But it was the Tigers’ offense that made the initial impact of the contest as they campaigned 52 yards down field, consuming 3:48 off the clock in the opening drive of the game.
That was capped off when senior quarterback Ryan Byrne relayed a 17-yard strike to wide receiver Orion Wagner in the end zone. Nate Menninger missed the extra point, but Newton had the 6-0 lead.
The defense did its job maintaining the advantage not allowing the Wildcats to obtain a first down until less than two minutes remained in the half. And when that happened, the Tigers exacted vengeance as Wagner picked off a Liam Collins pass and ran 33 yards to pay dirt.
“Orion is one of our hardest workers,” said Capodilupo. “He was in the right place at the right time. We try to do that.”
Wagner would also catch the two-point conversion attempt to give the Tigers the 14-0 lead going into the half.
Continuing to dominate on the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers (1-1) managed to capitalize on the resulting opportunistic field position in the second portion of the contest.
Minutes into the fourth quarter, Menninger took the hand off from the six-yard line, ran straight, then bolted left and into the end zone. He tacked on the single mark and the Tigers went on to the victory.
For Wildcats’ head coach Jim Bowes, whose team slips to 0-2, the Tigers’ defense was the noteworthy difference.
“Their defense was playing real, real aggressive,” he said. “I was really impressed with their linebacker play. You turn around, there’s a tackle on the line of scrimmage before you knew it. It looked like we had a seam, but all of a sudden they would shut it down.”
