Sullivan, Ward enjoy career days as Newburyport football races past Pentucket

Apr. 10—NEWBURYPORT — Trevor Ward has a knack for making plays. Whether it's a highlight reel touchdown grab, an interception on the goal line or a big punt return, the Newburyport senior always seems to be at the center of the action.

So when Newburyport quarterback Finn Sullivan saw his senior wide receiver making a run to the end zone against Pentucket early in the fourth quarter, he didn't need to think twice. He put the ball up deep, and Ward made the smooth grab while keeping both feet in bounds to deliver the dagger.

"He made me look good," Sullivan said of his senior wide receiver. "He's a great player, I love playing with him. On that last touchdown I was like 'oh Trevor's there somewhere,' so I tossed it up to him."

Ward and Sullivan both enjoyed career performances as Newburyport football easily dispatched local rival Pentucket by a score of 35-6. The Clippers were in full control from start to finish, with Pentucket not scoring until the final play of the game to avert the shutout.

Leading the way on both sides of the ball was Ward, who finished with three total touchdowns plus two red zone interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense to help keep Pentucket at bay. Ward opened the scoring with a 15-yard rushing touchdown on the game's opening drive, and he later followed that up with two touchdown grabs in the back of the end zone to finish the day with five catches for 64 yards.

Sullivan, meanwhile, was nearly unstoppable on read option plays, repeatedly gashing the Pentucket defense for a career-high 169 rushing yards. He also went 12 for 18 passing with 127 yards, three touchdown passes and an interception.

Six of Sullivan's 15 carries went for 10 yards or more, including a 45-yard rush on the opening drive, a 20-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter and back to back dashes of 36 and 25 yards on Newburyport's first possession of the second half.

"Honestly, that's the fastest I've seen him run," Ward said of Sullivan's two big rushes to start the third quarter. "He had a great week of practice too so it's great to see, and it's only going up from here."

Sullivan's best play of the day came just before halftime, when the quarterback hit fellow junior Lucas Stallard for a contested 24-yard touchdown to give Newburyport a 21-0 lead. Ward had the first of his two interceptions just before the break, and after recording a tackle for a loss to help force a three-and-out on Pentucket's first drive of the third quarter, he made a 9-yard touchdown grab to break the game open early in the third.

Ward's second interception came right on the goal line shortly after, and if not for a brilliant hustle play by Pentucket's Dylan O'Rourke could have been a 100-yard pick six. No matter, as Sullivan and senior running back Jacob Buontempo drive the Clippers downfield and Sullivan hit Ward for the brilliant 15-yard score to seal the deal.

Though Pentucket was able to move the ball at times, the team doomed itself with four turnovers, including back to back lost fumbles in the first quarter, while also allowing a drive-killing 10-yard sack to Newburyport's Jack Hadden late in the second half. Pentucket was eventually able to avoid the shutout, with quarterback Chase Dwight leading the team downfield on its last possession and scoring a 4-yard touchdown on the final play of the game.

Pentucket also had some strong defensive plays, with Henry Walsh getting an interception and a 7-yard tackle for a loss, Adam Payne a 10-yard sack to go along with a 36-yard rush on his only carry, John O'Bara also had a tackle for a loss and Ethan Ruszkowski and Andrew Melone each had key pass breakups.

Newburyport improves to 3-2 with the win and will face North Reading next Friday, while Pentucket falls to 0-3 and will play Amesbury next Saturday.

Newburyport 35, Pentucket 6

Pentucket (0-3): 0 0 0 6 — 6

Newburyport (3-2): 14 7 7 7 — 35

First Quarter

N — Trevor Ward 15 run (Andrew Goodwin), 8:15

N — Finn Sullivan 20 run (Goodwin kick), 2:09

Second Quarter

N — Lucas Stallard 24 pass from Sullivan (Goodwin kick), 0:59

Third Quarter

N — Ward 9 pass from Sullivan (Tommy Jahn kick), 7:30

Fourth Quarter

N — Ward 15 pass from Sullivan (Jahn kick), 9:19

P — Chase Dwight 4 run (kick failed), 2:06

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Pentucket (25-110) — Chase Dwight 10-41, Adam Payne 1-36, Dylan O'Rourke 11-30, Johnny Igoe 2-6, Andrew Melone 1-(-3); Newburyport (28-230) — Finn Sullivan 15-169, Jacob Buontempo 10-38, Trevor Ward 2-20, Alex Lessard 1-3

PASSING: Pentucket — Chase Dwight 6-15-2, 48; Newburyport — Finn Sullivan 12-18-1, 127

RECEIVING: Pentucket — Silas Bucco 3-32, Andrew Melone 3-16; Newburyport — Trevor Ward 5-64, Lucas Stallard 4-43, Charlie Cahalane 2-12, Jacob Buontempo 1-8