WESTWOOD – Duxbury had a chance to punch its third straight ticket to the Division 4 State Championship at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
And boy did the Dragons take advantage of the opportunity.
In a defensive battle, No. 1 Duxbury outlasted No. 4 Tewksbury 19-7 at Xaverian Brothers High School.
Right out of the gate, the Redmen offense entered the Duxbury redzone on their first offensive drive of the game. Duxbury was able to stop them on a 4th down, turning the ball over on downs. The Dragons were able to stop Tewksbury on three fourth down conversions in the first half.
“I give credit to Tewksbury. Players and coaches, they were mixing up formations and getting us out of place at times, Duxbury HC Matt Landolfi said.
Duxbury capped off a slow offensive 1st quarter, as QB Trevor Jones linked up with Thomas Sheehan on a 22-yard TD pass, giving the Dragons an early 7-0 lead. Following another 4th down stop from the Dragons defense, senior RB Alex Barlow galloped in a 24-yard TD. Duxbury took a 13-0 lead with 8:39 to go in the opening half.
“He’s the leader of our team,” Landolfi said on Barlow. “He’s one of those players who plays like it’s 1985, but it’s actually 2023. First one there, last one to leave type of player.”
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Duxbury senior WR Sam Wien sparked the second TD drive with a 45-yard reception of his own. Late in the second quarter, Tewksbury got on the board. Senior RB Tyler Barnes punched in an 8-yard TD, cutting the deficit to 13-7 going into halftime.
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Tewksbury QB Vincent Ciancio made three terrific downfield passes to set up the Redmen for their lone score of the first half. Duxbury put the game on ice with a Barlow 3-yard TD rush, giving the Dragons a 19-7 lead with 4:14 left to go in the game.
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The scoring drive was sparked by a 42-yard rush from Barlow, setting up their offense deep in Redmen territory.
The Dragons (9-1) will play No. 7 Scituate (8-3) in the Div. 4 MIAA State Championship (Time/Date TBD. A rematch of the 2021 Div. 4 State Finals, where the Sailors outlasted the Dragons.
