Classical defeats tenacious Danvers team

LYNN ? The 32-7 final score is a bit deceiving. Though Lynn Classical proved it was a better team, Danvers hung around long enough to earn some points for courage.Cam Smith and Quivari Jackson scored two touchdowns apiece as the Rams improved to 4-1 on Friday night at Manning Field.Danvers (0-5) scored first, however, and trailed by just two touchdowns until Classical finally put the Falcons away with less than five minutes left in the game.”I give Danvers a lot of credit for coming in and playing hard,” Classical coach Matt Durgin said. “We made some mistakes, and we can play better, but Danvers made us work for it tonight.”The pivotal play in the game came with the Rams leading, 8-7, early in the second quarter. A Danvers punt left the Rams at their own 6-yard line. After Jackson was tackled for a 2-yard loss on first down, Smith (186 yards, 11 carries) went up the middle for a 96-yard touchdown run.”Yeah, that was a big play for them,” Danvers coach John Sullivan said. “We thought we could play field position at that point, and we got a big stop on first down. But then they popped that run.”Smith added a 12-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Jackson (131 yards from scrimmage) hauled in a 34-yard pass from the always-efficient Alex Watler and scored his other touchdown on a signature serpentine 48-yard run.The only negative for Classical’s offense was the loss of halfback Bryndyn Primus, who sat out the second half after injuring his right shoulder. Guard Reggie Douyan also apparently hurt his leg late in the game.The Rams’ defense bottled up Danvers halfback Mike Vinagro, who gained just 25 yards on 13 carries. Classical yielded just two first downs and 40 yards from scrimmage in the second half.”I thought (Classical) played very unselfishly on offense, and they tackled hard on defense, which is obviously a tribute to their coaching staff,” Sullivan said.Danvers scored after Smith fumbled a punt at the Rams’ 19-yard line late in the first quarter. Five plays later, Chris Martin ran in from 12 yards out to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead.Classical answered with a 69-yard touchdown drive. On fourth-and-7 from the Danvers 34, Watler hit Jackson on an out pattern at about the 10-yard line and he beat one defender to the end zone.The Rams held Danvers on a three-and-out, setting up Smith’s big run, which accounted for a 16-7 score at halftime.On its first drive of the second half, Classical wasted a chance to score when Jackson had a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty, and later Danvers recovered a fumbled exchange at the Falcons’ five.Classical got the ball back about three minutes later and Jackson scored on a 48-yard run that started to the left. At about the Falcons’ 20, Jackson got a crushing block from Tony Johnson, cut back to the middle and beat everyone to the end zone.After Danvers came up short on fourth-and-1 from its own 33, the Rams put the game away with a workmanlike drive that featured six running plays. Smith rolled around right end for a touchdown with 4:45 left in the game.