HINGHAM — Throughout the week, as the Hingham football team prepared for nemesis Duxbury, the captains encouraged their teammates to live in the present and forget the rivalry’s history.
They were well aware that the Harbormen hadn’t defeated the Dragons since 2007, and they convinced themselves that they would be the team to do it. Of course, planning on knocking off Duxbury and actually doing so are entirely different tasks.
Initially, it looked like yet another Duxbury win Saturday, as the Dragons built a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter. But Hingham responded with a vengeance, erupting for 20 unanswered points in the final 7 minutes, 36 seconds to seal a stunning 20-14 triumph at Hingham High.
“We’d be lying if we said that beating Duxbury doesn’t mean a little extra to us,” said senior quarterback Jake Varholak. “It’s been way too long. It’s a big turning point. Hingham football has been put down for a little while. We’re really trying to change that. We do it for the town.”
Varholak’s 14-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds left, plus one final stop from the defense, sealed a dramatic victory for the Harbormen (4-1).
Much earlier, the Dragons (2-3) had gone ahead on a 40-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline from senior Brady Rhinesmith to classmate Ian McNeil with 1:48 left in the first quarter. That was it for scoring in a slow-moving, flag-filled, first half with little flow.
Everett Pang intercepted a pass, Nate Read recovered a fumble, and Jake Falls, Cole Michelson, and Hank Frazier energized Duxbury defensively. Justin Kosierowski and J.T. Reale paced the Harbormen offensively, but nothing materialized as the Dragons maintained a 7-0 halftime cushion.
A scoreless third quarter was more of the same, as Duxbury’s Sam Szczesny and Hingham’s Hudson Trezza both intercepted passes in a span of 11 seconds to highlight an otherwise uneventful stretch.
Duxbury extended its lead to 14-0 on a 16-yard TD run from McNeil with 9:48 left. The Harbormen answered with a 2-yard TD run from Varholak with 7:35 remaining and an interception from Aedan Milligan three minutes later.
Hingham capitalized with a 41-yard TD strike from Varholak to Riley Bello with 2:55 left, then a Chase Beighley interception paved the way for Varholak’s last-minute heroics.
“I think our guys really got worn down on the defensive side of the ball,” said Duxbury coach Matt Landolfi. “They were out there a lot.”
Varholak (186 passing yards) was overcome with emotion afterward, as it sunk in that he and his teammates were the group to reverse the curse.
Hingham coach T.J. Byrne said it came down to poise and confidence in the defining moments.
“I’m so happy for the kids,” Byrne said. “They deserve it. I feel like a proud dad right now.”
BB&N 30, Belmont Hill 7 — Vince Snoonian made three field goals (15, 21, 30) and nailed all three of his extra points to give the visiting Knights (3-1) a NEPSAC Class B win.
Marblehead 35, Beverly 14 — Breydan Callahan ran for three touchdowns to lead the Magicians (5-0) to a Northeastern win. Finn Gallup completed 18 of 21 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Milton Academy 24, Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) 6 — Buffalo commit Qur’an McNeill tossed touchdowns to Ben Allen and Kash Kelly as the Mustangs (3-1), a NEPSAC Class B team, galloped to a home win over Class A’s Loomis Chaffee (2-3).
Correspondent Ethan Kagno contributed to this report.
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.
