The Shawsheen Tech football team improved to a perfect 3-0 in Thanksgiving Day games against Arlington Catholic and improved their overall record to 12-0 with a 42-19 win over AC Thursday in Billerica.
Shawsheen’s next and final stop is next Friday’s Div. 5 State Championship Super Bowl vs. North Reading at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
At 14-13 midway through the second quarter, Shawsheen had 28 unanswered points to set himself apart from the Cougars, who finished the season 3-8 overall.
After AC reduced the lead to one, Shawsheen made it 21-13 when second quarterback Sid Tildsley of Billerica made a 10-yard touchdown pass with Junior Ryan Copson of Wilmington 4:23 in the half. The extra point was added by Jack Finn in Billerica’s sophomore year.
Just 1:12 before the break, the Rams scored again when Tildsley hit Billerica’s elder Mavrick Bourdeau with a 19-yard strike to increase the lead to 28-13.
A 6-yard run by Tildsley was the only goal in the third quarter, and the Rams added more points in the fourth quarter when Wilmington’s Zach Timmons hit a 7-yard run to score 8:33 in the second quarter. Finn earned his seventh extra point of the game.
The Cougars scored their second touchdown in the last minute of the game when senior Thomas Driscoll scored on a 12-yard run.
Shawsheen took a 14-0 lead on two touchdown runs in the first quarter from Billerica’s junior Caleb Caceres, who scored from 17 and 3 yards.
In the first game of the second quarter, Driscoll hit senior Malikai McClure with a 23-yard touchdown pass and Driscoll added the extra point to halve the lead.
AC almost equalized later in the quarter when Driscoll scored on a 26-yard run. The extra point was blocked, giving Shawsheen a 7:23 lead.
The Rams followed with two crucial points before halftime.
Ayer Shirley 20, Littleton 14: Cam Marshall carried 12 times for 105 yards and a touchdown to tank the Panthers past a determined Littleton squad in Ayer.
James Gauntlett added a rushing TD as part of a 12-carry, 78-yard morning for Ayer Shirley (7-3).
For Littleton (3-8), Greg DeChane threw a 37-yard TD to Justin Mano. Tyler Branco added the kick. Littleton’s other touchdown came on a 71-yard pass from DeChane to John Woodward. Branco got the extra point again.
Defensively, Andre Milner grabbed an interception for the Tigers while Mark Frisoli forced two fumbles. Fumble recoveries were made by Branco, Justin Manno and Thomas Kazanjian.
“I’m proud of our performance and how we fought through adversity as a team. But overall we just made too many mistakes to complete the comeback. Hats off to a really good team from Ayer Shirley. Many thanks to our seniors for an unforgettable season. Their hard work and dedication to this program has not gone unnoticed and will not be forgotten,” said Littleton head coach Asante Easter.
Westford 43, Acton-Boxboro 14: Anthony Rudiman just couldn’t be stopped.
The Westford senior quad captain rushed for 232 yards and two touchdowns and caught a third.
Westford pounced on the pigskin with relentless precision during a 29-point first quarter. Rudiman got the offense rolling by spurting 60 yards for the touchdown to open the game. And when kicker Peter Burdin launched his first of five extra-point kicks, the Ghosts took a 7-0 lead.
Meanwhile, quarterback Kaden fueled Silton Westford’s airstrike. The junior signal caller went 9-for-14, passing for 158 yards and three touchdowns. He teamed with senior tri-captain Matty Haggan on two monstrous end zone shots, including a lob from 53 yards, to build the 12-0 cushion.
Luke Fremualt continued to pursue AB at every opportunity. The senior quad captain earned a few forced fumbles before rolling 85 yards home on a punt return and increasing the lead. Silton set up Jake Cullen in a two-point conversion game moments later.
The Ghosts QB capped the offensive blast by finding Haggan again, this time with a 65-yard touchdown pass. Haggen ended his afternoon with 118 yards and just two grabs. Silton sent Rudiman on a 10-yard TD reception and established the 35-0 lead at halftime.
The Westford defense was just as solid. Senior quad captain Drew Wilson made one of three interceptions, with junior Jake Cullen and senior Francesco Fernandez securing the others. AB tried to rally the troops and reduced the deficit to 35-14 by the end of the third quarter, but that was as close as the visitors would come. Rudiman capped his effort by breaking 10 yards in the closing moments to seal the win.
Tyngsboro 48, Groton Dunstable 7: The Tigers ran away with the clash in Tyngsboro behind quarterback Bryce Goulet’s arm, who threw for 148 yards and four touchdowns.
Gavin Hehir ran 147 yards to speed up the Tyngsboro ground attack. Goulet threw TD passes to Anthony Nicosia (60 yards) and two to Adam Dorant. Jimmy O’Keefe caught a 7-yard scoring pass from Goulet. Hehir added two scoring runs of 10 and 19 yards, and Luke McHugh plowed into the end zone from one yard.
Groton-Dunstable received a 20-carry, 132-yard rushing call from Nate Bushnell, who ended a stellar season.
Methuen 46, Dracut 7: The Middies ended a tough season with a one-sided loss to a strong Methuen side. Dracut only dressed 19 players for the home game.
Wednesday night: Nashoba Tech ended a great season in tough fashion with a 44-8 loss to Monty Tech, the only TD coming on a pass from Colby Catterton to Kamari L’Italy, while North Middlesex beat Assabet 55-28 in a overrun high-scoring affair in Townsend.
