Newton North High School football coach Peter Capodilupo was a bit worried about Brookline’s rushing attack heading into the annual Thanksgiving Day contest.
Turns out, he had every right to be, as the Warriors scampered for more than 300 yards en route to a 32-19 victory over the Tigers.
“Ask any coach: when you can’t stop someone else from running the ball down your throat, it’s a long, painful day,” said Capodilupo. “It’s probably the worst death to die. What do they say? It’s like a death of a thousand cuts as opposed to one good cut on your neck.”
Newton North ends the season at 3-7 while Brookline improves to the same mark, 3-7.
“We felt going into the game they were a little bit more of a sound football team, but we knew we had better athletes,” said Warriors coach Kevin Mahoney. “We preach that to our kids all the time: we’re faster, just keep grinding. And that was what really helped us in the running game.”
The Tigers managed to compile a 19-7 lead with Nate Menninger ripping off touchdown runs of 34 and 69 yards. Senior quarterback Joe Mariano split the two scores with a two-yard touchdown keeper of his own. But Menninger’s last scamper, which arrived with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter, would be the last points Newton North mustered for the rest of the affair.
With the Tigers’ offense mired in impotency, Brookline pounded the ball on the ground. Sophomore Nick Scott, who scored the Warriors’ first points on a 19-yard dash, would add three more touchdown runs. Teammate Stephen O’Neal also joined in on the action traversing 63 yards to pay dirt.
Photos from the game coming soon. Check back with Patch for shots from the game.
