In his only year at Dartmouth, Asante Aurora shapes the rivalry with New Bedford

DARTMOUTH – Asante Aurora got to experience the Dartmouth-New Bedford High football rivalry for the first time Friday night and made it an unforgettable experience for himself and his football team.

Aurora sparked a strong defensive performance from Dartmouth High in a 43-6 victory over the Whalers on Senior Night at Dartmouth Memorial Stadium.

With Dartmouth leading 6-0, Aurora intercepted a pass from New Bedford and returned it 36 ​​yards for a touchdown that gave his team a two-score lead.

“I was guarding the guy going deep and I saw the QB looking into the flat. I came here to do a play,” said Aurora, who lives in New Bedford and is attending Dartmouth High this year through school choice. “I saw it fall from his hands and when I caught it I saw nothing but green.”

Dartmouth head coach Rick White added: “Asante had a good choice there. He was in the right place at the right time and it worked out well. He was able to run it back for a touchdown. Anytime the defense makes something happen, it’s a good thing.”

Aurora, a transfer from Tabor Academy, made an impact on defense all season.

“He was great for us making tackles and he was great in coverage,” Dartmouth senior Jackson Hart said. “He was a great addition.”

Dartmouth senior Markus Andrews also had a pick six in the game. White was pleased to see how his secondary responded after giving up some big plays in a loss to Bridgewater-Raynham in Week 8.

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“We had a tough week last week,” he said. “We gave up three touchdown passes, so we reset, refocused and just worked harder this week. I thought the secondary played really well.”

“I was happy with the way we played together. I thought we came out pretty quick, especially after suffering a loss last week. We had to clean up and get back to what we do well. I thought we did that tonight.”

Dartmouth's defense, which was also credited with a safety in the first half, held the Whalers to just 159 yards of total offense.

“Our defense was really good today,” said Aurora, whose father, Eriston, played for the Whalers in the early 2000s. “We agreed and fired on all cylinders.”

Dartmouth's special teams also came up big, as junior Jayden Nunes-Medeiros scored on an 80-yard kickoff to give the hosts a 36-6 lead heading into halftime.

“Jayden’s big kickoff return was huge,” White said. “It was Senior Night, so it was nice to control the game in the second half and get all 20 seniors playing, which is difficult at times. I’m happy for her.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dartmouth scored on its first drive of the game thanks to a 1-yard touchdown run from senior Ray Gramlich to take a 6-0 lead.

Three plays later, Aurora's pick six and a 2-point conversion run from Hart made it 14-0.

Dartmouth extended its lead to 20-0 early in the second quarter on a pick six from Andrews.

On New Bedford's ensuing possession, Dartmouth forced a high snap safety on fourth down to extend its lead to 22-0.

Hart scored from four yards out to make it 29-0.

New Bedford responded with a 12-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by senior Aliaz Colon, a transfer from GNB Voc-Tech.

“He gives it his all and does as much as he can,” New Bedford High head coach Mark DeBrito said.

On the next play, Nunes-Medeiros increased the lead to 36:6 ​​with his kickoff return.

Dartmouth added a 20-yard rushing touchdown from Andrews in the third quarter.

WHAT IT MEANS

Dartmouth, which improved to 6-2, will find out Sunday who it will face in the MIAA Div. 3 playoffs. … The loss was the sixth straight for New Bedford (1-7), which will play in non-playoff games over the next two weeks. “It’s been like that all year, with mistakes,” DeBrito said. “Mentally we have our moments. When we make a mistake, things snowball. The children played hard. It’s not that they don’t try.”

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DARTMOUTH 43, NEW BEDFORD 6

New Bedford;0;6;0;0 — 6

Dartmouth;14;22;7;0 – 43

Rating

First quarter

D: Ray Gramlich 1 run (pass failed), 7:00

D: Asante Aurora 36 interception return (Jackson Hart run), 5:21

Second quarter

D: Markus Andrews 45 interception return (kick failed), 9:26

D: Security, 8:31

D: Jackson Hart 4 run (Aidan Gendron kick), 6:38

NB: Aliaz Colon 2 run (pass failed), :33

D: Jayden Nunes-Medeiros 80 kick return (Aidan Gendron kick), :17

Third quarter

D: Markus Andrews 20 runs (Aidan Gendron kick), 4:28

Fourth quarter

None

Individual statistics

Rushing – NB: Julez Johnson 18-58, Aliaz Colon 12-54-1, Bryan Monteiro 1-5, Collin Broyles 7-16, Shawn Waters 2-4; D: Markus Andrews 4-48-1, Jackson Hart 8-67-1, Ray Gramlich 8-37-1, Ethan Davis 2-1, Aidan Gendron 1-(-1).

Passing – NB: Jules Johnson 4-8-22-2; Shawn Waters 0-2; D: Jackson Hart 5-5-53.

Reception – NB: Bryan Monteiro 2-0, Jartavis Penro 1-14, Aliaz Colon 1-8; D: Ray Gramlich 3-27, Markus Andrews 2-26.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Dartmouth football beats rival New Bedford High