LaMothe throws four TD passes as St. Mary’s defeats Pope John

CHELSEA ? St. Mary’s went into Saturday night’s game against Pope John riding a two-game winning streak, looking to go over .500 this late into the season for the first time in three years.Led by the sterling play of quarterback John LaMothe, the Spartans went onto the field at Chelsea High School and accomplished their goal.LaMothe threw four touchdown passes to lead the Spartans to a 30-12 victory over Pope John at the Chelsea High School football field. After the starting the season 0-2, St Mary’s has now won three straight games.”It was our best win so far, start to finish,” St. Mary’s coach Matt Durgin said. “Pope John played very hard; it was a physical and tough game.”Early in the game, it looked as though St. Mary’s would have trouble containing the Pope John offense. The Tigers needed just seven plays to score on the opening drive, keyed by a 15-yard facemask penalty on St. Mary’s. Justin Nascimento scored on a rush from six yards out to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead.St. Mary’s answered, though, very quickly. Tim Ray rushed for 39 yards on the Spartans’ first play, and LaMothe found Nick Day for a 20-yard touchdown two plays later. Ray’s conversion rush made the score 8-6, Spartans.St. Mary’s recovered a Tigers fumble at midfield on the next possession, and once again the Spartans needed three plays to score. On the first play of the second quarter, LaMothe found Day for a 56-yard strike and a 16-6 advantage.After the game, Durgin said LaMothe (4-for-5, 161 yards) and Day (126 receiving yards, three TDs) played a key part in the win.”LaMothe did a good job of finding the open man,” Durgin said. “And Day made some big catches for us.”Pope John got back into the game with a 12-play drive that took over six minutes. Frank Poste recorded the rushing touchdown on a two-yard plunge, making the score 16-12.LaMothe delivered a crucial blow before the break, though, on the final Spartan possession of the half. With just under a minute remaining, he connected with Jordan Harvey for a 35-yard screen that Harvey took into the end zone. The conversion attempt failed, and the Spartans took a 22-12 lead into the break.The Spartans stepped up their defense in the second half, stuffing the Tigers on every possession. Despite being behind, the Tigers kept the ball on the ground in the second half, which coach Chris Buckley said was because quarterback Sean Nalen was coming off an injury.”We knew we were behind by a lot, and our quarterback is coming off an injury,” Buckley said. “We didn’t want to put him in jeopardy, so we kept it on the ground.”The Spartans scored one final time in the third, immediately after halftime. Two plays into the opening drive, LaMothe hooked up with Day a final time on a 50-yard touchdown pass for a 30-12 lead.Next Friday, St. Mary’s will open its Catholic Central League/Large schedule at Arlington Catholic. Durgin said that while his team is playing well, the Spartans must continue to improve for conference play.”I think we’re getting better each week, but we’ve got to work to get better,” Durgin said. “When we go into league play, the competition is very good.”