NEWBURYPORT – With a solid, all-around performance by the Newburyport Clippers (9-1) in a 35-0 win over Auburn (5-4) last week in the D5 MiIAA Football Tournament, coach Ben Smolski is still asking him team to focus on themselves and have even fewer mistakes in the next game against number 2-seeded Foxbourough this Friday. Newburyport is seeded number 7 and expecting a major challenge on the upcoming road trip.
Newburyport High School football coach Ben Smolski
Newburyport Daily News coverage by Kyle Gaudette:
PLAYOFF PUMMELING!
No. 7 Newburyport blanks No. 10 Auburn, 35-0, to punch ticket to Division 5 Quarterfinals
BY KYLE G AUDETTE kgaudette@newburyportnews.com
Newburyport . 35 Auburn ………… 0
NEWBURYPORT — 95-23.
That was the combined score of both of Newburyport’s first-round playoff games since the MIAA moved to the new statewide format in 2021, and unfortunately, the Clippers were the little number in that equation. Yes, they did deserve credit for being a postseason team in both years to begin with, and you can give the program some leeway having been in Division 4 in each of those seasons (as opposed to D5 now). But it was an ugly introduction in Foxborough two years ago, and Duxbury last year was arguably the best team in the state.
So, the Clippers lost — badly. But they learned.
For seniors on this year’s squad like Gus Webster, Peter Osazuwa, Jack Sullivan, Logan Jones and Jack Sherman — just to name a few — those playoff beatdowns showed them the next level that teams can actually reach. The Clippers would also see it in the CAL last year with eventual-champion North Reading, and all of it combined has been used as fuel for the team to get bigger, stronger, faster and tougher during the past two offseasons.
And Friday night, those results finally paid off.
Newburyport flipped the script of postseason’s past and was on the giving end of playoff pummeling. The Clippers, ranked No. 7 in Division 5, shut out No. 10 Auburn, 35-0, in what, for the seniors, was their final game under the lights at James T. Stehlin Field. It was the program’s first home playoff win since 2017, and advances the team to next week’s quarterfinal where it’ll travel to play the No. 2 seed and a familiar foe.
Foxborough. That, however, is something that can wait until next week.
Because on Friday night, there was plenty for Newburyport (8-1) to celebrate.
“It’s unreal,” said Webster, one of the team’s six senior captains. “This program hasn’t gotten a playoff win in a long time, and the way it’s gone the last couple of years, this group of guys, these seniors, we’ve just worked our butts off.”
ruly, you could tell this time was going to be different after the third play.
Auburn (5-4) won the toss and took the ball, but after two plays found itself in a 3rd-and-7. The call, to the surprise of some — and maybe even a couple of Clippers on the field — was a draw, and a hole was there for Rockets’ senior running back Nathan Cook to pick up some yards though. But shooting through the gap like a missile was Webster, who delivered a massive hit-stick that forced a punt, but more importantly set the tone for the night to come.
The Clippers are here to be a contender, not just first-round playoff fodder.
“That starts with the seniors,” said Newburyport coach Ben Smolski. “Their sophomore year, they rolled into Foxborough and, as a team, we weren’t ready for the stage. and then last year with Duxbury, I mean, Duxbury has been a wagon for a while. But definitely the experience in those playoff games helped out when you get into an atmosphere like this, and I would definitely attribute what happened tonight to the senior leadership that we have on the team now.”
And after that 3-and-out followed by a punt, Newburyport quickly drove 62 yards on just six plays and scored on an 18-yard screen pass from Sean Miles to Colin Fuller. The Clippers would then force another punt thanks to the interior defensive line play of Cade Pessolano and Teddy Caron stuffing runs, but found themselves pinned at their own 9-yard-line.
Eh, no problem. On the first play, Sullivan took an outside-zone handoff and sprinted 91 yards for an electric touchdown. Newburyport then stopped a promising Auburn drive on a 4th-and-goal from the 7, and quickly made it 20-0 when Miles hit Webster on a drag route, and the senior broke a tackle before going 66 yards to the house. The Rockets would again drive down to the goal line, but on the last play of the first half, it was Osazuwa breaking through and stuffing the runner at the 1 to keep the visitors scoreless after 24 minutes.
Which, you could argue, was the dagger.
“Tonight we definitely proved to ourselves how good we are and how good we can be,” said Webster. “It’s a long season, and I think once you get to the playoffs and you start playing tougher competition, it’s a lot harder. But you show who you are, and I know that we’re a good team.”
Newburyport got the ball to start the second half, and a 40-yard connection from Miles to Sam Craig set up a 4-yard touchdown run from Sullivan. The Rockets couldn’t muster much of anything offensively after the break, and Miles made it a running clock early in the fourth quarter when he hit Jackson DeVivo for a 14-yard TD to make it 35-0.
For the night, Miles finished 10-of-14 passing for 209 yards and three TDs, while also rushing for 62 yards on seven carries. Sullivan only needed eight totes to pile up 149 yards and two scores, which brings his total up to 12 TDs over the team’s last four games.
“Those guys have been at it all year,” said Smolski of Miles and Sullivan. “We definitely need to clean up some of the penalties, we have
a lot to work on there. But Jack does well, Sean too, and I though Sam Hartford did a good job stepping up and playing right guard. He got his first varsity start tonight, and the offensive line in general has really stepped up their game in protecting Sean, and creating space for Jack and Gus and Kane (Brennan).”
Friday’s Division 5 Quarterfinal at Foxborough is currently slated to kickoff at 6 p.m.
