Quick turnaround doesn't faze Shrewsbury as Colonials run past Acton-Boxborough

SHREWSBURY — The Shrewsbury High football team saw its season opener delayed by two days and pushed to Sunday due to a severe storm that knocked out power in Andover.

That meant a quick turnaround, with just three days to prepare for their home opener against Acton-Boxborough.

The Colonials were up to the challenge, getting contributions from all three phases and scoring touchdowns on six of their final seven possessions to break open a tie game and roll to a 49-19 victory over the Revolution on Thursday night before a large, partisan crowd at David J. Adams Memorial Field.

More: Hometeam Central Mass. high school football standings, leaders

“We played a strong Andover team Sunday (40-7 loss) and, yeah, it was a quick turnaround,” coach John Aloisi said after his squad moved to 1-1. “I don’t think I’ve ever played with just three days between games as a coach.

“So we just had to adjust. … Just kind of go on the fly and get ready for Thursday. The kids responded well. Proud of them.”

Offensively, senior running back Josiah Spiegel got the rout going by scoring the first three touchdowns of his first career, all in the first half. The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder displayed a terrific initial burst and, when needed, power and determination at the second level.

More: Millbury, Oxford pick up longstanding rivalry after successful starts to season

Spiegel blasted through a seam for a 2-yard score in the first quarter, got a great push from up front for a 6-yard TD in the second and then dashed 15 yards to the end zone on a screen pass from sophomore quarterback Andrew Vincequere as the Colonials went into the half leading, 21-7.

“Well, we had our jobs,” said Spiegel, who finished with 151 total yards on 17 touches. “I just did my job and the O-line did their job and it ended up paying off pretty good.”

That line was composed of junior center Jarrett Ellis, seniors Lesley Opindas and Evan Romano at guard, juniors Teddy Hruskoci and Darius Gibbons at tackle, and senior tight end Cooper Ackerman, who hauled in a 30-yard scoring strike with 2:25 to play.

All told, the Colonials piled up 355 yards, 257 of them on the ground. They also got rushing TDs from Vincequere (3 yards) and, on the final play of the third quarter, senior Stephen Surabian (30 yards).

Senior Casey Gringas picked up 56 yards and three first downs on seven carries and classmate Felix Pittorino moved the chains on all three of his carries, which totaled 50 yards.

“That’s how we do it,” Aloisi said. “We don’t necessarily feature anybody. We try to have a team approach on offense and the kids came through.”

Defensively, the Colonials held the Revolution ‒ who were previously known as the Colonials until changing their mascot in in May of 2022 ‒ to 209 yards. Two of their touchdowns came via terrific catches in tight windows along the sideline and they added nine additional first downs while dropping to 1-1.

More: Grid bits: Auburn's lightning tie is Central Mass. first football deadlock since 2003

Ackerman recorded a sack and recovered a fumble, Gingras had two tackles for a loss from his middle linebacker position, sophomore linebacker Owen Michalowski had a tackle for a loss and a 55-yard pick six with a minute to play, and junior defensive back Ethan LePoer broke up a would-be TD.

“Overall, it was a team effort,” Gingras said. “We came out, the energy was there, everything was there. We got our plays down, the calls, all our checks were perfect most of the time. Obviously, nothing is perfect, but we got the job done and I’m very happy.”

As for special teams, junior Andrew Stumm, a reserve, two-way lineman, made all six of his extra-point attempts, junior Ryan Keddy returned a punt 26 yards and Surabian a kickoff 43 yards, both of which set up TDs to make it 7-0 and 29-7, respectively.

The Colonials will resume their intown rivalry with St. John’s at 7 p.m. next Friday at Pioneer Field. Last year’s game was a thriller with the Colonials scoring with 97 seconds to play to rally for an 18-15 victory to snap a seven-game skid in the series.

“Our kids will be excited for that challenge,” Aloisi said. “Obviously, a strong program and I’m sure they’ll be excited over there. So it should be a great game.”

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Speigel's 3 TD night helps Shrewsbury roll past Acton-Boxborough