After each having a week off, the Bellingham Blackhawks and the Norton Lancers will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. Bellingham is coming into the game hot, having won their last six games.
Bellingham gave up the first points last Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They enjoyed a cozy 35-21 victory over Pembroke. The win almost wasn't to be: the Blackhawks were down 14-0 in the second quarter.
Bellingham's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Gabe Egan led the charge by rushing for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Bellingham also got help from Mason Jacques, who showed off his sure hands for 125 receiving yards.
Bellingham didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ryan Cochrane and Brock Barry. Another thorn in Pembroke's side was Michael Demers, who picked up 0.5 sacks and made eight total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Norton and Old Rochester Regional squared off in some playoff action last Friday, but Norton had to settle for second. They were outmatched by the Bulldogs on the road and fell 42-10. While losing is never fun, the Lancers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Massachusetts football rankings (they are ranked 115th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 28th).
Bellingham pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 41.7 points per game. As for Norton, their loss dropped their record down to 6-4.
Bellingham was able to grind out a solid win over Norton when the teams last played back in November of 2023, winning 20-13. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bellingham since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
