GEORGETOWN — What else can Joe Esposito do?
His offensive exploits are already well-chronicled. The returning All-Scholastic had them on display again yesterday for Georgetown against non-league opponent Marblehead, this despite wearing a bull's-eye.
But the senior was a terror on the other side of the ball as well, which ended up being a much more important factor in a 28-14 victory over the Magicians.
Georgetown remains unbeaten with the win (3-0) while its Northeastern Conference foe drops to 2-2.
He rolled up 262 yards in total offense, had a hand in all four touchdowns and all but 10 of Georgetown's yards, Esposito also was the team leader in tackles with 11. Four of the stops went for negative yardage.
"Even last year, I would have loved to have used him even more on defense," said head coach Matt Bouchard. "This year we needed him, and playing safety sometimes he ends up free depending on (the opposition). You put Joe in a situation where he has a little bit of freedom and he can make some plays."
The defensive effort helped stabilize a playing field where Georgetown's offense was either wildly successful (eight plays of 10 yards or more, four for touchdowns) or depressingly ineffective. The Royals had three turnovers with one returned 91 yards for a Magician touchdown, and despite four drives starting inside the Marblehead 30, it only led to one score.
Royal special teams also suffered as a blocked punt gave Marblehead the ball at the 1 late in the third quarter, scoring a play later to cut the gap to 21-14.
But Georgetown remained sturdy behind Esposito, defensive back David Kenneally (five tackles, three for lost yardage), linebacker Andrew Sinkewicz (six tackles), Mike Ruh (forced fumble) and tackle Eric Gesualdi (fumble recovery). Despite running 67 offensive plays and holding a six-minute advantage in time of possession, Marblehead was held to a paltry 5 of 14 on third-down conversions and an even more stingy 1 of 6 on fourth-down attempts.
"One of the big things you look for when evaluating a team is how they respond when times get tough," Bouchard said. "With three drives inside the 10 that we didn't convert ... it was a little surprising, but we have a veteran group that's had to deal with some tough situations."
That gave the Royals enough breathing room to succeed behind Esposito, who scored on runs of 49, 70 and 19 yards, adding a 14-yard pass to junior Tyran Harrigan for the eventual winning points. The senior also had four perfect point-after kicks, giving him 65 points in only three games.
Georgetown 28, Marblehead 14
Marblehead (2-2):0770—14
Georgetown (3-0, 1-0 CAL Small):7777—28
First Quarter
G — Joe Esposito 49 run (J. Esposito kick), 1:29
Second Quarter
M — Nick Haller 91 fumble return (Ian McKinley kick), 8:54
G — J. Esposito 70 run (J. Esposito kick), 6:54
Third Quarter
G — Tyran Harrigan 14 pass from J. Esposito (J. Esposito kick), 5:13
M — McKinley 1 run (McKinley kick), 1:26
Fourth Quarter
G — J. Esposito 19 run (J. Esposito kick), 2:15
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Marblehead (37-84) — Nick Haller 11-45, Brandon Lee 13-35, Evan Comeau 4-13, Hayes Richardson 2-12, Ian McKinley 7-(-21); Georgetown (34-224) — Joe Esposito 22-214, Anthony Conte 3-6, Chris Esposito 3-5, David Kenneally 2-3, Jaymie Spears 3-1, Tyran Harrigan 1-(-5)
PASSING: M (10-27-1, 126) — Richardson 1-3-0, 5; McKinley 9-24-1, 121; G (3-11-1, 48) — J. Esposito 3-10-0, 48; Spears 0-1-1, 0
RECEIVING: M — Taariq Allen 6-89, Lee 1-21, Alex Haigis 1-12, Haller 1-2, Dan Comeau 1-2; G — Conte 1-28, Harrigan 1-14, Mike Ruh 1-6
Kelli Johnson 1-on-1 with John Thompson III -2/13
Alexander Semin finds back of net versus Rangers-2/12
The Sixers are not taking anyone lightly
Spring training is right around the corner
Moving day: Phils' gear en route to Clearwater
Will the Flyers make a move at the trade deadline?
Stoglin's frustrations boil over following Duke loss-2/12
Timonen "disappointed" in teammates' effort
Morganti: 'Rangers' power play demolished the Flyers'
Timonen: 'I think we got half the guys going and half the guys not'
More shootout woes in store for the Flyers when they face the Red Wings?
The Rangers have the Flyers' number
St. Joseph's vs. Massachusetts Highlights - 2/11
Penn vs. Dartmouth Highlights - 2/11
Drexel vs. Hofstra Highlights - 2/11
La Salle vs. St. Louis Highlights - 2/11
John Wall talks about the loss to the Heat-2/10
Collins takes the blame for the Sixers' final possession
Sixers vs. Clippers highlights
Sixers defensive effort not enough vs. Clippers
Julien: 'did it the hard way'
McAdam's Spring Training primer
Doc: Team's effort is 'un-Celtic'
Pierce stresses mental toughness
Globe 10.0 Who was the best free agent in Boston?
Maria Menounos dons a Giants-colored bikini after losing Super Bowl bet-2/7
Thomas' moratorium: 'I'm out, peace'
Gasol: 'Not pleasant' being part of trade rumor
Blakely: Gasol-for-Rondo trade unlikely
Brady-ing is Latest Internet Meme
Globe 10.0: Is Paul Pierce the Celtics greatest scorer?
Ranking Pierce among Celtics greats
Garnett's tale of first meeting Paul Pierce
Pierce's loyalty touted after big night
Hurt Locker: Patriots react to Super Bowl loss
Brown: 'Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady'
Local fans crushed by Patriots loss in Super Bowl XLVI
Marcus Johansson Caps lone goal in loss to Bruins-2/5
Matt Hendricks throws down with the Bruins' Adam McQuaid--2/5
Vinatieri, Law, Brown recount Super Bowl XXXVI
