English offense explodes in win over Revere

LYNN – The Lynn English football team now finds itself in the exact position it wanted to be in following last Thanksgiving’s loss to Lynn Classical: Playing for a chance to win a Northeastern Conference North Division title.On Friday night at Manning Field, the Bulldogs played arguably their best game of the season, accumulating 409 yards of total offense while their defense held Revere to 217 total yards en route to a 34-13 win.Click here to see a photo gallery from the game.”It’s where these kids have wanted to be since last November,” English coach Peter Holey said. “They’ve played themselves into a position of importance, and now we have to take this effort to the next level against a good team.”Playing without senior running back Julio Arzu, the English offense didn’t miss a beat thanks to quarterback Jesse Fowler.Playing his best game of the season, Fowler hit 16 of 21 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 75 yards and a fourth score.”Jesse finally played a complete game and the way he’s capable of,” Holey said. “We had to get our passing game out of neutral because we have to have that mix to be effective.”The English defense also came to the forefront, intercepting Revere quarterback Mike Duffy three times and also recovering a fumble on the second-half kickoff.”We just made too many mistakes,” Revere coach Lou Cicatelli said. “Turnovers are our Achilles’ heel, and hopefully it’s something that we can fix.”Holey also was pleased with the way his defense took care of business.”That was probably the most physical we’ve been on defense all year, without a doubt,” Holey said. “That’s the way I’ve wanted us to play, and it’s what we need to do.”After forcing a punt on English’s initial drive of the game, Revere dug deep in the playbook to set up the game’s first touchdown.On fourth-and-five from the Revere 49, punter Paul DiPlatzi took off on a fake around the right end for a 38-yard gain to the English 13.DiPlatzi got Revere in position for Matt Gasparini to get the Patriots in the end zone. He carried on five of the next six plays before scoring from the one on fourth-and-goal to make it 7-0, Patriots, with 1:59 left in the quarter.”Matt is just a player. I wish I had 11 more like him,” Cicatelli said.English tried to answer as Fowler hit Charlie Rucker for gains of 13 and 19 yards into Revere territory. But the Patriots’ defense stood tall and stopped Fowler’s fourth-down sneak attempt on the first play of the second quarter.Revere couldn’t take advantage of the stop as English forced a punt with 8:00 left in the half. Four plays later, the Bulldogs had the game tied.A 13-yard Fowler scramble got the ball to the Revere 38. Two snaps later, Fowler hit Rucker on a fly pattern for a 37-yard touchdown and a tie game.DiPlatzi nearly broke the ensuing kick return for a touchdown as Neil Whittredge made a touchdown-saving tackle at the English 33. That play was huge, as Taron Seaforth came up with the first of the Bulldogs’ three picks moments later.English promptly took the lead for good thanks to a 92-yard drive in eight plays. Fowler used his arm and legs to get the ball into Revere territory before Seaforth gained 33 yards to the Revere 22 on a reverse.Following a sack, Fowler threw a hitch to Justin Young, who turned it into a 33-yard touchdown and a 13-7 English lead at halftime.Even more damaging for Revere was the second-half kick fumble that English’s Kyle Smith recovered at the Revere 39.A facemask penalty on a Young catch moved the ball to the 11. Two plays later, Fowler scored on a one-yard dive to make it 20-7.”We were in the game in the first half and then we got that mishap on the second-half kick,” Cicatelli said. “And then things fell apart a bit.”The Patriots fought back and closed to within a touchdown on Gasparini’s second one-yard plunge of the game. But English delivered the knockout blow late in the third when Young took a sure pick by safety Derek McCoy and turned it into a 32