By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Staff

HANOVER – Senior captain Joey Burke and Scituate were on a mission Friday night.

The end result was a resounding beatdown of Patriot League rival Hanover 52-0.

“It was a big week” said Burke. “The last two years they’ve kinda handled us. But, I think heading into this week, it was a big one and we knew it.”

After an uneventful first 10 minutes of the game, Scituate settled in and dominated Hanover.

On Scituate’s second possession of the game, running back Willy Robinson ran for a 38-yard touchdown, shedding a tackler in the open field with an impressive spin move.

Robinson showcased the spin move on an earlier run in the possession. Griffin McGirr’s extra point Scituate up 7-0 and the Sailors never looked back from that point forward.

The Scituate defense forced another Hanover punt. On the first play of the ensuing series, Scituate quarterback Jonny Donovan threw a quick screen behind the line of scrimmage to Burke. Burke then took his time, looked downfield and connected with fellow captain Lawson Foley on a 51-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter.

“We had a plan to run that play” said Scituate head coach Herb Devine. “We practice it a lot. It seems like we’ve had it in the playbook for about a month, but we haven’t been able to run it. Tonight was a good opportunity. [Hanover’s] defensive backs were aggressive when they saw the ball come out, which is what we try to take advantage of. Burke made a great pass.”

After forcing another punt, Scituate got the ball back and struck quickly again. Sophomore Grayson Foley ran for a 62-yards touchdown, untouched.

“Willy was running the ball hard. Grayson was running the ball hard. And our O-Line was doing a good job.” Devine said.

On the next defensive series, Burke came up with a fumble recovery. A few plays later Donovan connected with Lawson Foley on a 23-yard scoring strike to put Scituate up 28-0.

Shortly before halftime, Burke intercepted a Hanover pass.

Two plays later, Donovan hooked up with Burke on a 67-yard touchdown to send the visitors into the locker room with a commanding 35-0 lead.

Burke caught two passes for 76 yards and a touchdown, completed his only pass of the night for a 51-yard touchdown, while recovering a fumble and intercepting a pass on defense.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played a complete game like that,” said Burke. “That was crazy.”

On the first series of the second half, Scituate kept its foot on the gas. Grayson Foley (five carries, 118 yards, two touchdowns) exploded for a 42-yard touchdown run.

Scituate would add a safety and 3-yard touchdown run by MJ Toth with a running clock in the second half to give the game its final score.

“[Hanover] is a good football team. They took it to us the last couple of years and our kids remembered that,” added Devine. “We wanted to come out here and play a great football game, but bring another level of intensity. I thought our kids [had the intensity] this week in practice and we definitely brought that tonight.”

Both teams will continue league play next week. Scituate hosts Plymouth South next Friday. Hanover will head to Quincy for a Thursday night clash.