Merrimack Valley quarterback Buddy Eddy lines up under center at the John Stark 2-yard line, his team trailing the winless Generals 6-0 with 8:24 remaining in the second quarter. The sun beams down on his black helmet. The crowd filed into the bleachers anticipates a touchdown.
Eddy takes the snap, fakes a handoff to his right, makes an abrupt U-turn to his left and scampers ahead, tumbling across the goal line to even the score. Moments later, Travis Garcia’s PAT gives the Pride a lead they would never relinquish in its 20-6 victory Saturday afternoon.
“Buddy does a nice job for us because he looks at the field, he’s a smart kid and he has great techniques on what he wants to do,” MV head coach Joe Raycraft said. “It gives us an advantage by having him as a runner and passer.”
Eddy put both skills on display, running for 45 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for another. The 7-yard passing touchdown to Matt Sanborn came 33 seconds before halftime and gave the Pride a 13-6 lead.
John Stark began the game with momentum after the offense marched the ball down the field on its first drive, highlighted by Generals’ running back Joey Dykstra’s direct snap, 3-yard touchdown run. But that was the best the John Stark offense would perform all game.
“We became a little more relaxed, and we didn’t panic,” Raycraft said of his team bouncing back after allowing the early score. “We knew that we had to play a full game, and that was our goal this week.”
In addition to the offense coming alive, the Pride’s defense locked down the Generals offensive efforts after allowing the opening-drive touchdown. John Stark didn’t complete a pass in seven attempts, and MV held the Generals to 169 yards on the ground. Without a clear-cut quarterback – the Generals had three different players attempt passes – the offense scuffled.
“We knew they were gonna run the ball, and we had to come up and make sure we could stop that,” Raycraft said. “We worked hard on that all week.”
The Generals came to Merrimack Valley winless on the season with an inexperienced roster. Because of injuries, head coach Ray Kershaw – in his second season leading the program – said he played all juniors, sophomores and a couple freshmen, so he views the loss as an experience his players will learn from.
“Even though it doesn’t show in the win column, we are getting better each game,” Kershaw said. “The future is extremely bright for us, and so I’m not worried about that at all. It’s just keeping everybody together and positive. Right now, we’re 0-4, but things will be fine. They’ll bounce back from that.”
For the Pride, the victory puts it back at .500 after an uneven first few weeks of the season. MV dropped its opening game 12-9 to St. Thomas Aquinas in a defensive battle before bouncing back with a 30-19 win over Laconia. Then last week, MV’s offense struggled again, leading to a 21-10 loss against Plymouth.
But after that rollercoaster first three weeks, Raycraft said he’s proud of where the team is positioned heading into a difficult game on the road against 3-1 Bow next Saturday.
“It’s a great feeling for the program. They’re excited about that, and they deserve to be because they worked hard.”
Beginning next week, MV plays three of its final five games against teams currently .500 or better, so Saturday’s victory against a John Stark team that’s struggled was paramount to keeping the Pride’s postseason hopes alive.
The Generals will continue to look for their first win of the season on Friday night against Hollis-Brookline, a team that’s lost three of its four games so far this season.