BOXFORD — Next fall, North Andover will likely be the favorite to win the Cape Ann League large title.
But that "future" talk doesn't mean much right now to North Andover's talented sophomore quarterback Brandon Walsh, who felt the Knights could make the playoffs this year.
"We were pretty excited but we didn't come to play and it was our loss," said a disappointed Walsh following a 40-20 loss before 3,100 fans in the CAL Large first-place showdown with Masconomet.
Walsh wouldn't use the excuse that North Andover lost to a team that was older and more experienced or talk about what a bright future North Andover has.
"Not right now, not after a loss like that," said Walsh, who stated that the sting of yesterday's loss will not work itself out until the team "gets back in the gym" in preparation for next season.
That comes Monday, according to Walsh, who may be an even better baseball player.
Walsh is coming off an 11-touchdown pass season which saw him lead the Knights to an 8-3 record as a sophomore. His 1,262 passing yards is the highest single-season mark for a North Andover quarterback since the Eagle-Tribune started to track the statistic in 1995.
"Walsh is going to be a tough one (for us and the league to go against). We don't want to be facing him for the next two years," said Masconomet head coach Jim Pugh, after his club clinched its fourth straight CAL Large title. "He has a great arm and great poise.
"North Andover is going to be good because they have Walsh. He is the kid that is going to make them compete for the league for his next two years, that is for sure. You build a team around him. He is like a (Chris) Splinter and (Evan) Bunker."
Those two combined for all six Masco TDs yesterday.
Thankfully for North Andover, those two will pick up their diplomas in the spring.
Motivated by paper
Masconomet felt disrespected that the only two Eagle-Tribune writers who made predictions both picked North Andover in an upset.
Brilliant quarterback Chris Splinter said, "We saw a report from The Eagle-Tribune that said upset warning and all that. We really knew we had something to prove to everybody. We clipped that article all over the place."
All-purpose running back Evan Bunker said, "The Eagle-Tribune said we were going to lose and that helped us a lot. We have a lot of defensive pride. We always try to let up as few points as possible."
North Andover's 20 points were misleading as two of the TDs were late in the game.
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