METHUEN — After getting off to a strong start in its home opener against Marshfield on Friday night, Methuen suddenly struggled in the fourth quarter.
The visiting Rams scored 18 points to take a 24-21 lead, but senior quarterback Drew Eason and his brother, junior Shane, led the charge in the final minutes. The ball went 60 yards to regain the lead, and the Rangers defense Marshfield was stopped deep in its own territory to preserve the 27-24 victory.
“All we needed tonight was a win against a good opponent,” Methuen coach Tom Ryan said. “I wanted to play better. The kids played with Methuen toughness. Not smart. But they played tough. Now we just have to fix the execution issues.”
Methuen (1-1) dominated the first quarter and took a 21-6 lead into halftime behind a strong performance from Drew Eason, who missed all practice with mononucleosis camp, and barely made a timely appearance in the Rangers’ opening loss to Lincoln-Sudbury. .
Ethan (22-for-32, 300 yards passing, four touchdowns) hit junior Adrian Black (five catches, 75 yards) for two touchdowns in the first half and found Sean ·Eason (7 catches, 144 yards) scored 57 yards in the second quarter.
“The timing was a little off last week,” Elder Ethan said. “I’m not in a good rhythm, but I’m feeling a lot more comfortable this week.”
Marshfield (1-1) turned to a super-fast offensive break that eventually tied the game at 21-21 when junior quarterback Tor Maas found Reid Bergamesca for a 22-yard score scored and hit Brady Crowley for a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter.
Thomas Kelly’s 23-yard field goal gave the Rams a 24-21 lead with 3:29 left in the game.
Shane Eason moved around the formation all night and played wide receiver on the final score, finishing the game with a 12-yard touchdown reception with 1:27 left.
Marshfield drove to the Methuen 5-yard line, but the timeout expired and was unable to spike the ball in time to attempt a field goal.
“It’s just like last year,” Ryan said, referring to Marshfield’s comeback style with a 38-28 Methuen win. “But this team does that to you. We defended well in the first half, but we held on in the second half. “It was a little risky at the end, but a win is a win. “