Advertisement

'He's magic': Hudson High quarterback Jake Attaway pulls another rabbit out of his hat

Tommy Cassell, MetroWest Daily News
·4 min read

HUDSON — Football isn’t Quidditch and Hudson isn’t Hogwarts.

And Jake Attaway isn’t a wizard like Harry Potter.

But the Hudson High quarterback is putting spells on opposing teams this fall – with Maynard becoming the latest to be hypnotized.

Thanks to three rushing touchdowns and 106 total yards rushing, Attaway led the Hawks to a 21-7 win over Maynard at the Morgan Bowl on Friday.

The victory moves Hudson to a perfect 4-0 on the season. Abracadabra.

“He’s magic,” Hudson senior captain Ty Mullahy said. “He does some special stuff out there (that) I can’t believe it.”

With Hudson leading 14-0 in the final quarter, Maynard (3-1) sophomore quarterback Dylan Gallo hit teammate Patrick Andrews for a 13-yard TD pass on fourth-and-6. The score cut the game to a one-possession deficit for the Tigers with 9:35 left to play.

On the following drive, though, Attaway cast his final spell.

Hudson sophomore quarterback Jake Attaway breaks the line for a touchdown during the football game against Maynard/AMSA at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.
Hudson sophomore quarterback Jake Attaway breaks the line for a touchdown during the football game against Maynard/AMSA at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.

The 6-foot, 170-pound QB led his team down the field while burning time off of the clock. Attaway then capped the possession with a 21-yard TD run that saw him break multiple would-be tacklers and scamper into the end zone to close the victory.

Attaway now has 11 touchdowns on the season.

“He’s a shifty kid,” Hudson head coach Dan McAnespie said.

“(Attaway is) wild,” Hudson senior captain Ryan Yates said. “He sealed it and the game is over at 8:45 (p.m.) – so there you go.”

High school football: Grafton improves to 4-0, fends off Marlborough

In a Midland-Wachusett League clash that featured two very similar towns and teams, Attaway got the better of his opposing sophomore signal-caller. But it won’t be the last time that he and Gallo square up against one another on the gridiron.

“He’s real good,” Attaway said of Gallo. “I like talking to him and we’ve seen each other and talk to each other and he’s good. Today was whoever played harder as a team and as a team we got it done.”

Maynard/AMSA sophomore quarterback Dylan Gallo throws the ball during the football game against Hudson at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.
Maynard/AMSA sophomore quarterback Dylan Gallo throws the ball during the football game against Hudson at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.

Key plays

After stopping Maynard inside the red zone on fourth down during the first drive of the game, Hudson’s offense wasted no time moving down the field.

On the first play from scrimmage, Attaway tossed the ball backwards to senior running back Caleb Luz, who then tossed the ball down the field to classmate Kyle Areias in what turned out to be a 74-yard pass completion.

Hudson senior Kyle Areias makes a catch for big yardage during the football game against Maynard/AMSA at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.
Hudson senior Kyle Areias makes a catch for big yardage during the football game against Maynard/AMSA at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.

“We ran that every day this week and the only time we completed it was today at practice and in that game,” McAnespie said. “They nailed it. They nailed it.”

Two plays later, Attaway punched it in from a yard out to snatch the momentum.

Family over football: Westborough football coach Dave Tinglof quit coaching to watch athlete son

“Me and Kyle, we had bad connections in practice,” Luz said of the opening trick play. “He caught the ball on Friday night and that’s all that matters.”

By the numbers

16: That’s how many times Attaway ran and threw the ball on Friday. Across 16 carries, he garnered 106 yards and three scores while going 9-for-16 passing for 76 yards.

Hudson sophomore quarterback Jake Attaway looks to make a pass prior to a football game against Maynard/AMSA at Hudson High School on Sept. 30, 2022.
Hudson sophomore quarterback Jake Attaway looks to make a pass prior to a football game against Maynard/AMSA at Hudson High School on Sept. 30, 2022.

3: Each team had three wins coming into the highly-anticipated showdown. For the second straight year, Hudson came in with a perfect 3-0 record in Week 4 against Maynard and walked away with a victory.

Mark your calendar: 2022 complete high school football schedule and results for MetroWest and Milford area

94: The Hudson and Maynard rivalry dates back to 1898 as the two teams met for the 94th time on Friday. Hudson now leads the all-time series 56-32-6.

They said it

“It’s a long-standing rivalry, two towns that are close to each other and similar-type kids,” Maynard coach Nick Pileeki said. “Football is a big part of both communities. It’s always a good game.”

The Hudson defense stops Maynard/AMSA during the football game at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.
The Hudson defense stops Maynard/AMSA during the football game at Hudson High School on Sep. 30, 2022.

“It’s awesome. Us playing each other is fantastic,” McAnespie said. “Two similar towns, too, right? Old mill towns. Farm and mill towns kind of both. We’re in Central Mass. and that’s kind of a thing. You go to Eastern Mass. you never find a farm town and mill town wrapped into one. It really is great to be part of this game.”

What’s Next?

Hudson hosts Oakmont on Oct. 7 (7 p.m.) and hopes to avenge last year’s 27-0 loss to the Spartans while Maynard looks to bounce back on the road (on the same day and time) against Groton-Dunstable.

Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hudson football QB Jake Attaway leads team to win over Maynard