Hungry Lynn Tech Tigers pounce on St. Mary’s

LYNN – It has already been a season of rebirth for the Lynn Tech football team coming into Wednesday’s game against St. Mary’s at Manning Field, but the Tigers saved arguably their most dominant performance for last.On a cold and drizzly night at Manning, Tech simply dominated the Spartans from opening kickoff to the final whistle, outgaining St. Mary’s by over 300 yards en route to a 38-0 win. It was Tech’s first win in seven tries against their neighborhood rivals.”Our offensive line did a great job up front,” Tech coach Gary Sverker said. “It was a nice way for us to cap a tremendous year.”The Tigers (6-3) came into the game hoping to stop a three-game losing skid and they did it in the biggest possible way. The Tech offense put up 365 yards of total offense, 245 of it coming on the ground while the defense was even better, holding St. Mary’s without a first down for nearly three full quarters and allowing just 46 yards total for the game.That dominance was something that St. Mary’s coach Jeff Smith took notice of.”Tech came out with a lot of energy and set the tone early,” Smith said. “They played very well and we couldn’t get anything rolling. That’s a credit to coach Sverker and his team.”Tech got the ball to begin things and set the tone for the game on the very first snap. Quarterback Jose Rios, who was outstanding in his final game under center for the Tigers, faked to tailback John Jones and threw a strike to Jake Canty for a 14-yard gain.After that, Tech’s bruising ground game took hold. Working out of a stack-I, Jones and Green took turns gashing the St. Mary’s defense. Meticulously, Tech drove inside the Spartan 20 before Jones capped the nine-play, 65-yard drive with a six-yard run to make it 8-0 after his conversion rush with 7:35 left in the first.The defense got in the act on St. Mary’s first possession of the game. Pressure from defensive lineman Lorenzo Rivera flushed quarterback Shaun Kehoe from the pocket, where he made an ill-advised throw late over the middle.Stefon Carter stepped in front of the receiver and made the first of Tech’s four interceptions.After an exchange of punts, Tech took over at its 47 with 2:55 left in the quarter. Four consecutive runs from Jones moved the ball to the 30, where Rios threw over the top to Jake Canty for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.”Jose really threw the ball well,” Sverker said.”And Canty and Carter are athletes and they make great plays.”St. Mary’s (1-10) went three-and-out on its next possession, punting the ball back to the Tigers early in the second quarter, where it was more of the same for Tech.Jones, Green and Rios continued to eat up big chunks of yardage, steadily moving the ball from the Tech 49 over the next four minutes.The drive reached the St. Mary’s nine, were Tech faced a third-and-three situation.Jones got the call and went up the middle for his second score of the game and a 22-0 lead after Otis Green’s two-point conversion.St. Mary’s had its best field position of the game on the next series as Richie Barrows’ 34-yard kick return put the ball at the Spartan 41.But the Tech defense wasted little time in taking away any momentum the Spartans might have gained as Carter got his second interception of the half, a leaping grab on a Kehoe pass at the Tiger 36 with 5:10 left in the half.But the Tigers would fail to turn the takeaway into points. Despite a 41-yard bomb from Rios to Carter, Tech would come away empty thanks to an illegal block on a Green 19-yard touchdown run, keeping it 22-0 at the half.Tempers began to flare early in the third quarter as both teams were tagged for personal fouls on the opening series of the half, which ended with a shanked St. Mary’s punt.Tech took over at the Spartan 49 and went about delivering the knockout blow to St. Mary’s chances.Jones dashed 25 yards on Tech’s second play and added a 13 yarder on the next play to set up first and goal.Two plays later, Rios found Canty for his second touchdown