Hornets dominate Pope John with strong rushing attack

By Richard Slate
Staff Writer

September 08, 2008 05:55 am

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BEVERLY — Even Tropical Storm Hanna couldn't stop the Manchester Essex football team on Saturday afternoon in its season opener against Pope John at Endicott College.

With the Hornets up 14-6 at the half, the sky opened up and it poured for the rest of the game, but Manchester Essex didn't seem to be affected as it scored 30 straight points in the second half before ultimately leaving with a 44-14 non-conference win to open the season at 1-0.

Hornets head coach Mike Athanas couldn't remember seeing as much rain on a game day.

"No never, not that rainy," he said. "It does change the game plan a little bit, it made us concentrate more on running the ball which we did pretty well. I was happy with that, we wanted to keep the defense off-balance. We were just concentrating on holding the ball, moving it and taking a shot in the air."

Hornets senior quarterback and captain Pat Orlando had a monster game with 108 yards rushing (three touchdowns, two-point conversion), a passing touchdown and a two-point conversion pass. Not content to just control the offense, Orlando also made his presence felt in the defensive secondary, coming up for numerous tackles and even making nice punts the few times Manchester Essex had to give up possession of the ball.

"Pat ran the ball hard, he's like an extra back out there," said Athanas. "He had open field runs and that 50-yard run. He did what we're used to him doing, moving it in the air or on the ground."

Last season, Manchester Essex was known for its aerial attack but undoubtedly the running game and defense carried the team in its first contest of 2008. Junior running back Brian Ciccone ran 10 times for 75 yards, with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Junior running back Ben Kekeisen rushed eight times for 48 yards with a two-point conversion.

"That's probably the most important part of the team," Orlando said referring to the running game. "We can use it, it's more of a threat than last year. Also, our offensive line blocked real well."

Overall, the Hornets racked up 281 yards on the ground while holding the Tigers to 98 total yards as a team.

Pope John actually opened the scoring on the first drive of the game. An eight-play, 58-yard drive culminated with a 44-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Sean Nalen to senior wide receiver P.J. Robinson. Nalen bought time by rolling out of the pocket before throwing the pass and Robinson adjusted to the underthrown ball. Most impressively, the Tigers successfully converted two fourth downs on the drive, including fourth-and-seven on the touchdown completion.

The Hornets quickly answered with a seven-play, 57-yard drive of their own. Ciccone finished it off with a 31-yard touchdown run. The 6-foot-4 running back found a crease in the middle of the field and hit paydirt.

How big was it to come right back after Pope John scored that first touchdown?

"It was huge," Orlando said. "Being able to come back and gain momentum, that was what won us the game by getting the momentum back after they scored."

Manchester Essex's defense rose up on the next Pope John drive, stopping the Tigers on fourth-and-13 on the Hornets 48-yard line. The head-scratching decision by Pope John to go for it was compounded by the fact that Orlando and Co. marched down the field and scored another touchdown.

After Kekeisen's 15-yard burst moved the ball to the Pope John 8-yard line, Orlando ran a bootleg around the right side for an easy score. Ciccone and junior receiver Doug Kenerson sprung Orlando with great blocks on Tigers defenders. Kekeisen hauled in the two-point conversion pass from Orlando to put Manchester Essex up 14-6.

Pope John had the ball two more times without scoring and the Hornets had one more scoreless possession before halftime arrived.

Clearly, with the rain coming down in the second half, any thoughts of passing the football quickly went away. This might have been a problem for Manchester Essex last season but at least for one day, they seemed much more comfortable grinding out yards on the ground and wearing out the opposition.

"We'll call the offensive plays depending on what a defense gives us, I have all the confidence in the world with our offensive line and running backs," stated Athanas.

It only took two plays for the Hornets to score on the first drive of the third quarter. Ciccone rumbled for 12 yards and then Orlando scored on a 50-yard option run. The senior went from right to left and once he turned the corner, he outran two Pope John defenders.

The defensive play of the game was turned in by Hornets junior defensive end Garin Sweet on the ensuing Tigers drive. Sweet beat his offensive lineman, strip-sacked Nalen and to top it off he recovered the fumble at the Pope John 36-yard line.

Six plays later, Orlando dove into the end zone on a quarterback sneak from a yard out. Manchester Essex was firmly in control with a 28-6 lead.

The Tigers' last chance was foiled when the Hornets stuffed Pope John on a fourth-and-1 run at midfield. Next, Orlando recorded the first touchdown pass of his season with a beautiful 25-yard catch and run by Kenerson. Things went from bad to worse for Pope John as Nalen fumbled on the next play. Hornets junior defensive lineman Justin Burke recovered the loose ball at the Tigers' 12-yard line.

From there, sophomore Calvin Cook (7 rushes, 36 yards) scored his first varsity touchdown on a 3-yard plunge. He added to his memorable performance with a two-point conversion run.

Pope John senior wide receiver Justin Nascimento closed the scoring with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He followed his blockers and found a big hole before sprinting down the right sideline.

All in all, Manchester Essex couldn't have asked for much more in its season opener (other than better weather). The Hornets had four false start penalties but they didn't come back to haunt an otherwise impressive all-around performance.

Manchester Essex has next weekend off before hosting Mystic Valley at Endicott on September 20.

"It was a good team effort: we played a physical, great game defensively," said Athanas. "The only play that really beat us was that fourth-and-long pass play. We didn't play it right but that happens. We limited them moving the ball and caused a few turnovers."

Orlando agreed with his coach about the defense's impressive showing.

"I thought our defensive line played really well. We kept stopping them on their sweeps, we were all in-sync together," he said.

SFlbManchester Essex 44, Pope John 14 at Endicott College, Beverly Pope John 6 0 0 8 | 14 Manchester Essex 6 8 14 16 | 44 PJ- P.J. Robinson 44 pass from Sean Nalen (rush failed) ME- Brian Ciccone 35 run (kick failed) ME- Pat Orlando 8 run (Ben Kekeisen pass from Orlando) ME- Orlando 50 run (kick failed) ME- Orlando 1 run (Kekeisen rush) ME- Doug Kenerson 25 pass from Orlando (Ciccone rush) ME- Calvin Cook 3 rush (Cook rush) PJ- Justin Nascimento 75 kick return (Frank Poste rush) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Pope John | J.P. Doherty 9-18, Frank Poste 9-16, P.J. Robinson 5-8, Justin Nascimento 5-7, Sean Nalen 7-(-6); Manchester Essex | Pat Orlando 9-108, Brian Ciccone 10-75, Ben Kekeisen 8-48, Calvin Cook 7-36, Tony Tran 1-6, Jack Bishop 2-5, Chris Sullivan 1-2, Pat Hoffman 2-1. PASSING: Pope John | Nalen 2-3-55-1-0; Manchester Essex | Orlando 3-10-35-1-0. RECEIVING: Pope John | Robinson 1-44, Nascimento 1-11; Manchester Essex | Doug Kenerson 1-25, Bishop 1-7, Kekeisen 1-3.

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