High School: 3 Things We Learned in Duxbury’s 21-7 win over Hanover

Posted By on September 9, 2022

DUXBURY — It was a fun opening night in Duxbury, as the Dragons pulled out a 21-7 win over Hanover.

These are two of the best teams in the South Shore, and Duxbury flexed its muscle as a top 10 team in the state.

There were a few takeaways, and we feel both teams have reason to be optimistic going forward.

1. Duxbury has found a ground game: Quarterback Matt Festa is certainly a good passer, and he’s also a threat to run himself. But the breakout star of the game was Alex Barlow, who finished with 164 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Barlow, a junior, is fast, but his defining characteristic is the power he generates behind his pads. Just a tough kid to bring down. He will have one heck of a career if he builds on this.

2. Festa is still what makes this offense go: Festa completed 9 of 18 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Festa was most effective on the short and intermediate routes. He has one of the fastest releases in the state. It looks like he is just flicking the ball, but he gets good zip on it. With Festa complementing the running game, this is a tough offense to stop. There is speed and skill everywhere, and the offensive line is athletic and tough.

3. There are plenty of reasons to like what Hanover is doing: Junior quarterback Ben Scalzi threw for 173 yards and kept his team in the game. Scalzi moves well to avoid the rush in the pocket, and is an accurate passer. Hanover does a lot of designed rollouts, and Scalzi is good on those plays. Although the Hawks only scored seven points, this is an offense that can put up big numbers when it gets rolling.