BEVERLY — Senior tailback Ben Iglesias, junior quarterback Billy Vincent and the North Andover football team didn’t seem bothered by the rain, the early start, or the slick grass surface of Hurd Stadium.
Iglesias ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns while Vincent had 82 yards on the ground, 132 more through the air, and accounted for a trio of scores himself as the Scarlet Knights captured a 40-14 victory over host Beverly High Saturday.
Playing against a Panther squad missing its top three running backs and several offensive linemen, the Knights (now 2-0) grabbed a two-touchdown lead early in the second quarter and never looked back.
Iglesias and Vincent handled all 38 of the Scarlet Knights’ rushing attempts, finding holes behind an offensive line that continually pushed the pile forward and averaging nearly 6.3 yards on the ground.
“We came down here with a lot of respect for Beverly, knowing we wanted to control the football and pound it at them,” head coach John Dubzinski said. “We’re not fancy or throw it all over the place; we like to go two tight ends and pound the ball at you. I felt we were able to do that, and I was really proud of the way our offensive line played.”
Iglesias had scoring jaunts of 5, 36 and 6 yards in the first two quarters. Vincent added 82 yards on 18 attempts, including two touchdown runs of his own in the second half.
When they went to the air, Vincent was efficient in going 4-for-6 for 132 yards and a score.
“We’re not a big passing team, but when we have to Billy made some great plays,” Dubzinski noted. “He’s a mentally tough kid, good lacrosse player and a really smart athlete.”
The Panthers (now 1-2) got within a touchdown midway through the second quarter when junior captain Danny Pierce hit senior wideout Ray Kwiatek over the middle for a 32-yard touchdown pass. But North Andover responded with a seven-play, 53-yard drive, capped off by Iglesias going around left end from six yards out with 1:40 left in the half.
Then, after holding Beverly to 3-and-out and using their timeouts wisely, the Scarlet Knights scored again as Vincent found Jake Jackson down the left sideline for a 42-yard score.
Reminding his team that the hosts would come out of the break with fire in their eyes, Dubzinski proved prophetic when Beverly scored on the opening possession of the third quarter. But as they did the entire contest, the Knights responded once again by going 74 yards in 10 plays on the ensuing series, with Vincent taking it around left end from six yards out to make it 34-14.
Vincent then sealed the deal with 2:37 remaining, rambling 13 yards around right end and into the end zone.
North Andover returns home this Friday (6 p.m.) when it takes on its second straight Northeastern Conference foe, Marblehead. The Magicians (1-2) will come to Walsh Stadium fresh off of their first win, a 55-8 pounding of Shepherd Hill.
North Andover 40, Beverly 14
at Hurd Stadium, Beverly
North Andover (2-0);7;21;6;6 — 40
Beverly (1-2);0;7;7;0 — 14
Scoring summary
NA — Ben Iglesias 5 run (Nathan Wessel kick)
NA — Iglesias 36 run (kick failed)
B — Ray Kwiatek 32 pass from Danny Pierce (Maverick Genest kick)
NA — Iglesias 6 run (Billy Vincent rush)
NA — Jake Jackson 42 pass from Vincent (Wessel kick)
B — Gregory White 7 run (Genest kick)
NA — Vincent 6 run (kick failed)
NA — Vincent 13 run (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: North Andover — Ben Iglesias 20-156, Billy Vincent 18-82; Beverly — Gregory White 6-25, Jonnathan Bleichwel 2-13, Xavier Auk 1-1, Danny Pierce 4-(-1), Charlie Frost 7-(-5).
PASSING: North Andover — Vincent 4-6-132-1-0; Beverly — Pierce 8-11-67-1-1.
RECEIVING: North Andover — Adam Bernat 1-44, Jake Jackson 1-42, Iglesias 1-27, Jeff La Volpicelo 1-19; Beverly — Ray Kwiatek 2-29, Callan McCay 2-28, Liam Timpone 2-7, White 2-3.