DARTMOUTH – Asante Aurora got his first taste of the football rivalry between Dartmouth and New Bedford High on Friday night and made it an unforgettable experience for himself and his football team.

Aurora led a strong defensive effort from Dartmouth High in a 43-6 win over the Whalers on Senior Night at Dartmouth Memorial Stadium.

With Dartmouth leading 6-0, Aurora intercepted a New Bedford pass and returned it 36 ​​yards for a touchdown to put his team ahead by two scores.

“I was guarding the guy going deep and I saw the QB looking into the flat. I came here to do a play,” says Aurora, who lives in New Bedford and is attending Dartmouth High this year through school choice. “I saw it come out of his hands and I caught it and all I saw was green.”

Dartmouth head coach Rick White added: “Asante had a nice pick 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 things happen, it’s a good thing.”

Aurora, a transfer from Tabor Academy, has 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 has been a great asset.”

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

Week 9: SouthCoast High School Football scores and highlights

“We had a tough week last week,” he said. “We gave up three touchdown passes, so we reset and 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 of it pretty quickly, especially after coming off a loss last week. We had to clean things up and get back to what we are good at. I thought we did that tonight.”

Dartmouth’s defense, which also got a safety in the first half, held the Whalers to just 159 yards of total offensive margin.

“Our defense was very good today,” said Aurora, whose father, Eriston, played for the Whalers in the early 2000s. “We were on the same page and firing on all cylinders.”

Dartmouth’s special teams also came up big when junior Jayden Nunes-Medeiros returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score, sending the hosts into halftime ahead 36-6.

“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 sometimes difficult. I’m happy for them.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dartmouth scored on the game’s opening drive thanks to a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Ray Gramlich, which put it in front 6-0.

Three plays later, Aurora’s pick six and a two-point conversion by Hart made it 14-0.

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

After New Bedford’s possession, Dartmouth forced a safety on a high spot on fourth down, extending the lead to 22-0.

Hart scored on a four-yarder to make it 29-0.

New Bedford answered with a 12-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from 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 made it 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 play in the MIAA Div. 3 play-offs. … The loss was the sixth straight for New Bedford (1-7), which will compete in non-playoff games over the next two weeks. “That’s been the story of mistakes all year,” DeBrito said. “Mentally we have our moments. If we make one mistake, it will snowball. The children played hard. It’s not that they don’t try.”

More: SouthCoast’s top scorers in high school football after Week 8

DARTMOUTH 43, NEW BEDFORD 6

New Bedford;0;6;0;0 — 6

Dartmouth;14;22;7;0 — 43

Scoring

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 fails), 9:26

D: Safety, 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 run (Aidan Gendron kick), 4:28

Fourth quarter

No

Individual statistics

Rushing – Note: 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 — Note: Jules Johnson 4-8-22-2; Shawn Waters 0-2; D: Jackson Hart 5-5-53.

Received — 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