By Dakota Antelman, Managing Editor
HUDSON – The Hudson Hawks football team saw its playoff push come to an end on the road against Bishop Fenwick, Nov. 12.
After the game though, Coach Dan McAnespie remained positive about a season still rolling toward its Thanksgiving finale against Marlborough.
“We’re having a good season right now,” McAnespie told the Community Advocate after what was a 42-13 loss. “We just got beat by a good football team. But we’re still having a good season.”
Playoff run ends in Peabody
Hudson won its way into a matchup with Bishop Fenwick by first upsetting sixth ranked Austin Prep in the first round of this year’s MIAA playoffs.
That win came as a triumphant return to the playoffs for a team that had spent several years on the outside looking in.
“It’s a great feeling for our kids,” McAnespie said after the game. “We’re excited. Hudson is excited right now…It’s really a good program win for us.”
As they made the trip to Peabody on Nov. 12, the Hawks quickly saw the Crusaders jump out to an early lead.
Bishop Fenwick quarterback Stephen Woods hurled four touchdown passes against Hudson. The Crusaders defense further kept the pressure on as the Hawks looked to answer, with the defensive line frequently sending Hudson quarterback Jake Attaway scrambling for open space.
“Their defensive line was really good,” McAnespie said. “They put some pressure on us.”
For all the pressure, Attaway did manage to connect with his receivers on a number of big plays against Bishop Fenwick.
“Our kids were getting open,” McAnespie said. “We dropped a couple balls but our kids were getting open like we wanted to.”
“It’s a great comfort to know that they’re out there,” Attaway said of his receiver corps.
Hawks eye Thanksgiving
Hudson kept the energy level high despite the deficit, adding a 3-yard touchdown on the final play of the game when Jacob Rudd crashed through a crowd of Bishop Fenwick defenders on the goal line.
Moments earlier, after a Hawk defender had laid a particularly brutal hit on a Bishop Fenwick opponent, one of the individuals manning the game’s first down chains remarked that the Hawks were, indeed, hitting hard.
“That’s what you gotta do,” assistant coach Jake Wardwell said in response.
With Nov. 12 behind them, the Hawks are now focused on their Thanksgiving Day game against Marlborough.
After a period of Panther dominance in a more than century-old rivalry, Hudson is hoping for a win in front of a hometown crowd at the Morgan Bowl.
“We’re going to get ourselves together over the next couple weeks and we got a big one on Thanksgiving,” McAnespie said.
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