Winthrop ends Beverly’s title hopes on senior night

WINTHROP – The race for the Northeastern Conference’s South Division title will go to Thanksgiving Day.Winthrop made sure of that.Led by senior running back Chris Beranger, who rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown in his final game at Miller Field, the Vikings put an end to Beverly’s hopes for a championship with a 22-13 win on a foggy night.The NEC South champion will now be the winner of the Marblehead-Swampscott Thanksgiving Day game because of the Panthers’ loss.”I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” Winthrop coach Sean Driscoll said. “They’re injured and banged up, but the seniors stepped up and played really good (Friday) against a good Beverly team.”The Panthers (7-3, 3-2 NEC South) never could keep any momentum on Friday as penalties and timely plays from the hosts proved to be too much to overcome.”Winthrop played well and you have to give them all the credit,” Beverly coach Dan Bauer said. “You never can underestimate the emotion of the game, and obviously they were playing for their season and we came up short in the end.”Winthrop (5-5, 3-2 NEC South) set the tone for the evening right off the bat as Beranger went to work on the Panther defense. He was the workhorse in a 10-play, 59-yard drive that opened the contest.His 21-yard catch of a Will Milano pass got the Vikings in scoring range. Beranger then capped the drive with a brilliant piece of 11-yard running on fourth-and-six to make it 6-0.Beverly’s first possession of the night didn’t go quite as well, as Steve Keough blocked Joe Wioncek’s punt, giving Winthrop the ball at the Beverly 31. But four incompletions from Milano saw that threat pass by.The Panthers then needed only three plays to take the lead. An 18-yard pass from Mark Hannable to Justin Marrs was followed by a 45-yard dash by Rashad Sims down the right sideline that gave Beverly a 7-6 lead with 1:10 left in the first quarter.That, however, would be the Panthers’ last time seeing the ball until there was 4:02 left in the first half. Winthrop took the kick and put together a 16-play, 84-yard drive that was a showcase for Beranger.He carried eight times for 43 yards and caught a pass for 15 yards on the march that Milano capped with a one-yard quarterback sneak that gave Winthrop a 14-7 lead at the half following a Beranger 2-point conversion.”Chris really ran hard,” Driscoll said. “A lot of those yards were ugly, but he got the first downs in key situations.”Each team punted twice in the third quarter, with Winthrop getting the ball at its 23 with 3:05 left on the clock. Four plays later, the Vikings delivered a crushing blow to Beverly’s hopes.Milano threw a 60-yard strike through the fog to Dan Ramos for a touchdown that broke the junior quarterback’s tie with James and Anthony Fucillo for the single-season mark at Winthrop. Nick McCarthy caught the 2-point pass from Milano to make it 22-7 heading to the fourth quarter.The Beverly offense continued to be stuck in the mud in the final 11 minutes, but Steve Dubois’ interception and return to the Winthrop 20 with 7:02 left gave the Panthers a bit of life.Two plays later, Dubois caught a 21-yard pass from Mark Hannable to cut the gap to 22-13 with 5:54 left. But a failed 2-point conversion and two first downs by the Viking offense put an end to any hopes Beverly had of a comeback.”(Winthrop) did a good job of capitalizing on third downs and that proved costly,” Bauer said. “We played to the end and now we have some time to get ready for Salem.”