by Brian Twomey
The memory of losing in the Superbowl to Clinton burned in the minds of everyone on the football team. With a 3-0 start the varsity team was looking forward to getting revenge on Clinton and staying undefeated.
The varsity football team has been on a roll, beating Auburn in the first game of the year 33-0. Although Hudson did not beat Auburn for six years in a row, they shut them out in the first game of the year. Then they defeated Groton Dunstable 41-7. The third game was a lot more competitive. They barely came away with the win over Westboro, 28-27. It came down to the final straw for Hudson to pull away with the win.
The Clinton-Hudson game is important for many reasons. “Clinton and Hudson have been playing for over 90 years, so it is a big one. They started in the Midland Wachusett League, and it has been going on for a long time, almost as long as the Hudson vs Marlborough game. It’s been a rivalry for a long time. Not just football, [but baseball, basketball, and hockey], ” said Head Coach Dan McAnespie. “It’s competitive. It’s pretty close to being a split as far as games won and games lost. We won last year. They are pretty good this year. It’s [going to] be a solid game.”
McAnespie’s prediction was wrong as Hudson soundly defeated Clinton, 28-8. Even with positions being changed for several players, Hudson was still able to get the win, improving their record to an impressive 4-0!
McAnespie knew that Westboro and Clinton were similar, so he knew in practice they would have to tighten up all flaws they had against Westboro to be able to beat Clinton. “I would say we have the upper hand. I think Clinton is very similar to Westboro, so I think we will be in for a good game. It’s not a gimme game by far. It’s going to be a game that we are going to have to work hard for in practices this week.” The football team’s hard work was shown as they defeated Clinton by 20 points.
Having a 4-0 record out of a seven-game season would not guarantee them a playoff spot. “There are going to be eight teams in Central Mass that make the playoffs. So we think our guarantee number is six. It’s really hard to tell this early in the year. The way the schedule is, we will play a lot of teams in the playoffs we never played in the regular season. Their record can be just as good as ours. There are solid teams in there. You can’t predict it right now. Once you get to week six, it’s easier to predict,” McAnespie said.
Running back and wide receiver Hunter Paupaw was not concerned about the Clinton game. “I don’t think these position changes will affect us. We have been working hard, and I can’t think this will hurt us in any way,” he said.
Even though the Clinton win was a huge ego boost for the team, they are going to have to play their best against Oakmont to get the win and improve to a very good record of 5-0.
