Revenge Served: Amesbury blanks Hamilton-Wenham to avenge only 2021 CAL loss

Sep. 24—A year's worth of frustration was taken out Friday night.

Last fall, Hamilton-Wenham was the only team in the CAL to get the better of Amesbury, winning 13-6 down in Hamilton in Week 2. It was a hard-fought blemish for Amesbury, which took the lump and used it to go on to win a CAL championship.

But the team certainly didn't forget it.

Friday night, senior back Nick Marden rushed for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and a stifling defense lead Amesbury to a 32-0 revenge win. Marden only needed 11 carries to hit his 91 yards, as Amesbury (2-0) rushed for 263 yards as a team to stay undefeated on the young season.

"We got the job done," said Amesbury coach Colin McQueen. "It wasn't as clean as we wanted it to be, but we fought hard and were clicking defensively. To keep a team like that off the scoreboard, I mean, that's a good team with a lot of skill, so to keep them off the scoreboard was something we were really happy with."

Senior Damien Capone and junior Christian McGarry were credited with controlling the defensive line and creating pressure, and both Marden and Andrew Baker came up from their safety positions to make plays. That paired with the offensive line led by Will Arsenault, Aiden Donovan and Brady Nash that routinely pushed the pile and created space for the backs to gain extra yards.

For its home opener, Amesbury wasted no time getting going.

Marden plowed his way into the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown on the team's first drive, and shifty junior Michael Sanchez ran in the conversion. Then after a big stop on 4th-and-1 with the Generals (1-2) — who are coached by former Pentucket great Tim Freiermuth — in Amesbury territory, Marden capped the ensuing drive with a 10-yard TD run. Senior quarterback/fullback hybrid Luke Arsenault finished up the conversion to make it a 16-0 game at halftime.

And the score would stay that way until Amesbury broke away in the fourth.

Senior captain Henry O'Neill finished up a drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, and Amesbury took a 24-0 lead after Drew Scialdone hit Baker on the conversion. Minutes later, Luke Arsenault added a 1-yard TD run followed by an O'Neill conversion to finish up the scoring for the night.

"We looked really good running the ball tonight," said McQueen. "Nick and Henry were outstanding, Luke played a little more fullback today and Sanchez ran well with limited touches. But it all stems from the offensive line knowing their assignments and getting on their blocks, which they did really well."

Besides Marden, O'Neill finished with 72 rushing yards on 11 carries and Arsenault added 51 yards on 12 carries. On what was a windy night, Amesbury only threw two passes and completed both with Baker catching a 2-point conversion and O'Neill taking a swing pass for a 17-yard gain.

Things will ramp up next week when Amesbury hosts Triton Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The Vikings (2-1) will be coming off in an emotional win over archrival Newburyport, but will be ready to play.

------

Amesbury 32, Hamilton-Wenham 0

Hamilton-Wenham (1-2): 0 0 0 0 — 0

Amesbury (2-0): 8 8 0 16 — 32

First Quarter

A — Nick Marden 5 run (Michael Sanchez run)

Second Quarter

A — Marden 10 run (Luke Arsenault run)

Fourth Quarter

A — Henry O'Neill 3 run (Andrew Baker pass from Drew Scialdone)

A — L. Arsenault 1 run (O'Neill run)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: AMESBURY (44-263): Nick Marden 11-91, Henry O'Neill 11-72, Luke Arsenault 12-51, Drew Scialdone 6-27, Michael Sanchez 3-21, Nico Cox 1-1

PASSING: A — D. Scialdone 1-1-0, 17

RECEIVING: A — O'Neill 1-17