Tewksbury Can't Put Together A Second Straight Comeback Win

WEYMOUTH, MA -- Coming off of last week's 22-18, come-from-behind win over Lynn English, there may have been hope when Tewksbury trailed North Attleboro early in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Division 3 State Football Semifinal. But Tewksbury fumbled the kickoff after Brendan McHugh put North Attleboro up 29-15 early in the fourth quarter with his third touchdown of the afternoon. On its next possession, the Redmen threatened deep into the red zone, but North Attleboro stripped the ball from sophomore quarterback Jay Connolly with 4:19 left to play.

North Attleboro (10-1) held on for the 29-21 win and will play the winner of St. John's Shrewsbury (10-0) and Springfield Central (8-1) for the Divison 3 State Championship next month. For Tewksbury, their run ends at 9-2 heading into Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game against Wilmington, where the only stakes will be bragging rights.

Tewksbury made one last-gasp push after the turnover. After North Attleboro punted with 1:24 to play, Connolly connected with last week's hero, Brandon Winn, on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 35.8 seconds left. But North Attleboro recovered the onside kick and ended Tewksbury's hopes for a second-straight comeback.

Early on, the game had the makings of a nail biter between Tewksbury and the Division 3 South Champions. The teams traded touchdowns throughout the first half, setting up a 15-14 Tewksbury halftime lead. Connolly connected with junior tight end Blake Hiltz on two similar passing routes for touchdowns in the second quarter.

The first touchdown by the duo put Tewksbury up 8-7 after the Redmen converted the two-point conversion. That lead was short-lived as North Attleboro responded with a 51-yard touchdown reception by McHugh that had made it 14-8. Connolly hit Hiltz again with two minutes left in the quarter to reclaim a 15-14 lead after the extra point.

North Attleboro opened the scoring with 1:34 to play in the first, when McHugh scored on a two-yard rush.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).