Grey Ghosts Go Down In Home Opener

The weather was ugly early on for the home opener on 's new field, but the play was even uglier as North Andover took home a 21-6 win over the Grey Ghosts on Friday night.

Outside of the 69 yard breakout run from John Iannone on North Andover's first offensive touch of the ball on the night and Brandon Walsh's 25 yard first down dash to keep what would become a scoring drive alive, the Scarlet Knights' evening was punctuated by a slow, continuous and unassuming approach, contrasted with Westford's continuing early game woes.

North Andover would score on two of their first three drives, with Walsh's first down earning him a shot at a four yard scamper into the end zone a few plays later, followed by a 23 yard pass from Walsh to Tom Moore, marking the third week in a row where the Grey Ghosts were behind at halftime.

, Westford Academy's high-octane offense continued to sputter while North Andover kept on eating up yardage, as Walsh added another passing touchdown, this time to fellow captain Dan Laorenza, to seal the win in the third quarter.

Westford Academy quarterback Troy Faretra was able to connect with Justin Mount for a consolation touchdown late in the contest, but the score proved too little, too late on what was a frustrating outing for a streaky Grey Ghost team.

"We were missing blatant tackles, we couldn't block at all, they just did a better job at the fine fundamentals of football," said Westford Academy head coach Rich McKenna. "It doesn't matter what you scheme up, if you block better and you tackle better, you win. North Andover blocked better than us and tackled better than us. That's why they won, and we lost."

Both McKenna and North Andover head coach John Rafferty didn't believe that the rain, which ended near the beginning of the second quarter, played a significant role in the contest, but if Rafferty's perspective was any indication, the Grey Ghosts' offensive prowess so far this season was a large factor in North Andover's game plan.

"Coming in, I had alot of respect for them, they beat a great organization in Marshfield last week," said Rafferty. "They're a tough, tough team and they're going to get their fair share of wins this year."

Westford Academy (1-2) will look to bounce back next Friday at home against Groton-Dunstable while North Andover (2-1) takes to the road once again next week against Newburyport.