NORTH ANDOVER — Two years ago, as North Andover football kicked off the 2021 preseason, an unheralded and somewhat unknown sophomore, through pure determination, grabbed the eyes of head coach John Dubzinski and his staff over and over.
Through sheer will, Jake O’Neil forced the coaches to take notice.
“During Week 1 his sophomore year, Jake was on scout defense (practicing against the starters),” remembered Dubzinski. “Our offensive line at the time could not block him during live team sessions. His motor never stopped, and he made play after play. After practice, we decided this kid had to play — and Jake has been a starter ever since. I always reference Jake when kids ask how to get on the field. I tell them, ‘If you feel you should be playing, get on the scout team, make plays and force the staff to play you.’”
O’Neil is now a force on the offensive line, in his third year as a starting offensive tackle and a key contributor on the defensive line for North Andover, which has surged to a 3-0 start to the 2023 season.
He’s now out for revenge on Thursday, when the Scarlet Knights — the No. 6-ranked team in the MIAA Division 2 power rankings — welcome Methuen High (3-1) — the No. 4-ranking team in Division 1 — to Walsh Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“We’re really excited for Methuen because we feel that we have something to prove this year,” said O’Neil. “We had a rough season last year and Methuen was the team to prevent us from going to the playoffs (42-28 Ranger win). Needless to say, we’re all ready to go on Thursday. A win against this team would mean a lot.”
At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, O’Neil has been dominant, opening holes for the Scarlet Knights rushing attack that’s been a major reason for the undefeated start.
“Jake’s been our best lineman over the past two years, and is the consummate leader on our team,” said Dubzinski. “We as a program are blessed to have Jake on the team. He’s vocal, passionate and is not afraid to call his teammates out who are dogging a drill or rep.”
O’Neil’s also highly passionate about the offensive line, even if he often has to take on defenders 80-100 pounds heavier than him in the rugged MVC.
“I love the grit,” said O’Neil. “I love it when, as a unit, the line comes together to push for that first down. It’s a mentality thing. When I line up on the ball, the only thing I’m thinking about is how I’m going to hit the guy across from me, and there is no way I’m gonna let him beat me. You could have a guy built like an NFL lineman, but without that mentality it doesn’t work.
“I belong in the trenches. When I first started playing football in the fourth grade I was bigger, stronger, and slower than everyone, and even though that’s not true anymore, my heart still belongs to the offensive line.”
Now, O’Neil hopes to help the Scarlet Knights keep their hot start going.
“We are all very excited, and starting to realize what we can do as a unit,” he said. “It was no joke how hard our guys work in the offseason to get better. We have talent on both sides of the ball and now we know how to use it.”
NORTH ANDOVER VS. METHUEN RIVALRY BREAKDOWN
Since North Andover joined the Merrimack Valley Conference in 2012, the Scarlet Knights and Methuen High have faced off seven times. North Andover won the first three meetings (2012-14), while Methuen has taken the past four matchups (2015, 2020-22). The two teams didn’t meet from 2016-19.
The Rangers made it clear they are not looking past the Division 2 Scarlet Knights.
After all, their last three wins over North Andover have come by a combined 24 points.
“North Andover shouldn’t be underestimated,” said Methuen QB Drew Eason, who threw for 376 yards and three TDs against the Knights last fall. “They haven’t given up more than 13 points in a game yet. Since I’ve been a part of the program, we’ve had three close games against North Andover, so we know the win won’t be handed to us. We’re going to have to play hard and execute if we want to win against a tough opponent.”
North Andover believes an upset over Methuen — which is ranked No. 10 in the MaxPreps and No. 17 in the New England Football Journal state-wide rankings — would be a major boost.
“This is a huge statement game this week,” said North Andover’s Mike McNaught. “Discipline is huge this week. They (Methuen) love to give teams weird looks. But as long as we stay disciplined and run our sets, we can keep these guys out of the end zone, resulting in an upset.”
Methuen running back Shane Eason, who had seven catches for 240 yards and scored four touchdowns against North Andover last year, also wants to make a statement on Thursday.
“This is a huge game for us,” said Shane. “North Andover always plays tough, and they are off to a great start this year. We’re coming off a great team win over a tough Andover team and this week is a huge statement week. If we can execute as well as we did against Andover, I’m very confident in us coming out of North Andover with a win. I can’t wait for Thursday night.”
North Andover’s last win against North Andover was in 2014, when Bubba Shkliew and James Foote each topped 100 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns in a 49-0 victory.
“We’re so pumped up heading into this week against Methuen,” said North Andover running back/defensive back Zach Wolinski. “They are a really good team on both sides of the ball, but we’re looking forward to such a good opportunity. Short week, but we’ve prepped ourselves and done everything we need to do to go out there on Thursday!”
CENTRAL READY FOR VICTORY
With its loss last Friday, Central Catholic fell to 0-4 for the first time since 2002.
The Raiders are now ready to snap that skid when they travel to Haverhill (1-3) on Friday night (7 p.m.)
“It’s tough coming off four losses,” said Central running back Mason Bachry. “But our team hasn’t flinched from sticking together one bit. We’re locked in and ready to get the first dub (win) on Friday.”
The Raiders have won six straight against Haverhill. The Hillies’ last victory over Central was in 2016 (21-10 win), which was their best season in at least 80 years.
“The team is definitely keeping their hopes up,” said Central Catholic quarterback/defensive back Jaxon Pereira. “We know the level of football we can play at. We just have to show it this Friday and get on the right track. We still are a championship team. “
ANDOVER SET TO BOUNCE BACK
Andover had to deal with a dose a reality in last week’s 51-18 loss to Methuen.
The Golden Warriors (3-1) will look to rebound on Friday, when they host a Brockton (7 p.m.) The Boxers earned their first victory of the season last week against Lawrence (14-7). Their previous two losses were each by one touchdown.
“Yeah, that was a tough loss for us last week,” said Bentley-bound Andover linebacker Brian McSweeney, “We watched game film with our coaches, identified our mistakes and learned from them. We are moving forward and onto prep for Friday night’s game against Brockton.”
WINDHAM SHAKES OFF LOSS
It’s been a tough two weeks for Windham football.
After nearly handing Salem its first loss of the season two weeks ago (33-28), the Jaguars nearly scored the upset of the fall when then were tied with Londonderry 14-14 at halftime, before falling to the Lancers 21-14.
But the Jaguars are continuing to battle.
“After what should’ve been a win last week, all the team can do is look forward onto the next game,” said Jags star Tiger An, “and shift mentally into winning out the rest of the regular season.”
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