LEXINGTON MAULS MARAUDERS 35 - 14
By Jim Baldwin
Lexington, MA. 10/14/18. A game that started this way had to augur well for the Lexington High School football team.
Senior QB Tony Bianchi, on a second down and 15 from the visiting Belmont Marauders 37 yard-line, saw his senior receiver Duncan Hewitt crossing over the middle.
Who?
Yes, that Duncan Hewitt. After recovering from knee surgery the co-captain and place kicker was finally back on the field for the first time this season, his last at Lexington.
In his first touch of the year, Hewitt leaped, gathered in Bianchi’s perfectly thrown ball, juked the Belmont safety and sprinted 20 yards into the end zone to put Lexington ahead just 90 seconds into the game.
Then he kicked the extra point. Hewitt 7 Belmont 0. Welcome back.
“I saw that ball coming towards me and I thought, “there’s no way I’m not scoring.’ And I just got into the end zone,” Hewitt said. “It feels amazing to be back. It took six weeks of grinding but it’s all worth it to get back out here with my brothers.”
The opening chapter was, indeed, a precursor of an enjoyable day for the Minutemen, a 35-14 romp over Belmont. The final chapter was fittingly written by Bianchi with nine minutes left in the game.
On 4th and goal from the Belmont 12 and Lexington already up 28-7, Bianchi ran the QB draw to perfection, faking a pass, ducking into the line, hurdling the first tackler and simply running over the last one on his way into the end zone for Lexington’s final touchdown that completely shut the door on the visitors.
In between these two chapters, Bianchi was having another banner day, passing for two more touchdowns, one a 13 yard strike to senior running back Joe Tibbles for Lexington’s second touchdown, followed by an 11 yarder to sophomore running back Mason Hatfield for a 20-7 lead early in the 3rd quarter.
Then, It took Bianchi just one play to capiltalize on senior Mesay Merseth’s recovery of a Marauder fumble. The co-captain was flushed out of the pocket, scrambled to his left and, with the help of a downfield block from Hewitt, escaped for 37 yards and Lexington’s fourth touchdown.
It was a banner day for the defense as well. Led by seniors AJ Movsesian, Johnny Bachman and Luke Butler, the Minutemen gave up only one big play, a 60 yard scoring run in the second quarter by Belmont senior running back and co-captain Kilian O’Connell.
Minuteman coach George Peterson lauded his defense. “We really picked it up in the second half,” he said. “The defense forced those two quick turnovers and we capitalized right away. Everybody on our defense played well today. Every single guy.”
Merseth spent much of the afternoon in Belmont’s backfield harassing junior quarterback Avery Arno from the blind side, and Lexington senior corner Ben Burnham followed up a questionable pass interference call with an interception of an Arno pass on the very next play.
Bianchi’s statistics for the day included 11-17 passing for 161 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He ran nine times for 127 yards and two more scores.
Hatfield ran eight times for 42 yards and had three receptions for 34 yards and one touchdown.
With 5 receptions for 50 yards, one touchdown and one two point extra point Tibbles continued to be a force on offense, and Hewitt celebrated his return with two receptions for 56 yards, one touchdown and four extra point conversions.
Lexington’s third straight win brings them to 4 – 2 on the season with Woburn on tap for next Friday night at 6 in Lexington.