Tewksbury breezes past Canton to earn D4 Super Bowl bid
LYNN — On an evening that saw kickoff delayed because Canton’s equipment was stuck in a traffic jam, Tewksbury finished it by putting on a clinical display in the Division 4 semifinals at Manning Field.
The second-seeded Redmen had 15 plays of 10 or more yards while Jonny Sullivan turned in three of Tewksbury’s four interceptions on defense. Throw in solid special teams play, and it all added up to a 35-6 win and a trip to Gillette Stadium the first weekend of December.
“These kids have worked so hard and have been willing to do the work,” Tewksbury coach Brian Aylward said. “This team is so deserving of getting to experience a Super Bowl.”
The tone of the evening was set right out of the gate when Tewksbury (11-0) stopped the Bulldogs on a fourth and two at the 29 early in the first quarter.
Ten plays and a little over five minutes later, Emeka Olu capped the Redmen drive with a one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.
Sullivan would get the first of his three picks on the next series, and Tewksbury turned it into a 14-0 second-quarter lead on Ben Christopher’s two-yard run.
An even bigger play came moments later when Canton quarterback Brian MacGillivray was stripped by Olu. Jake Burns scooped up the loose ball and returned it 35 yards for a score.
“That was a big momentum-turning play by Emeka and Jake,” Aylward said.
Canton had a chance to steal back some of the momentum going into halftime when it drove into the red zone. But Sullivan made a leaping interception at the one to end the march.
Christopher and the Redmen offense then proceeded to pick up huge chunks of yardage in a hurry. He had runs of 20 and 11 yards before adding a 31-yard catch to the Canton 11. Two plays later, his 10 yard TD catch made it 28-0 at the break.
The third quarter began the way the second ended as Sullivan’s third interception gave Tewksbury a short field. Four plays later, it was Will Harrison finding Burns on a tight end throwback to make it 35-0 and start the Redmen’s dreams of Foxboro.
Canton (8-3) got a late touchdown on a catch from Jake Marcell to spoil the shutout.
“There’s only one way you can control how your season ends as seniors and that’s by making it to Gillette,” Aylward said.
