English definitely has a large ‘score’ to settle

Forty-six to six.That was the score that the Lynn English football team saw its season end with last season in its Thanksgiving Day loss to archrival Lynn Classical.Since the morning after that defeat, the Bulldogs and new coach Peter Holey have worked towards Thursday morning (10) and a chance to bring the English program back to the forefront.”A lot of things had to be righted after last year,” Holey said. “And these kids have come a long way since then. And we’ve had a great season. But to make it a success, we have to win on Thanksgiving Day.”The Bulldogs (6-3, 3-1 NEC North) come into the game as one of the hottest teams in the Northeastern Conference, having won five of their last six contests. The only blemish being a 35-7 loss at Gloucester with the North Division title on the line.That return to prominence is something that Holey has been happy to see, especially for his group of seniors that went through tough times the last two years.”I’m really happy for them,” Holey said.”They’ve taken their lumps and have come out and had things go well. It really has taught them a life lesson.”Another thing that has helped the Bulldogs is the switch to the spread offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Vaughan, a running back on English’s 1990 Super Bowl team.”I really have to tip my hat to Brian for installing this offense,” Holey said. “It was a whole new blocking scheme and the zone runs were new to these kids.”The new attack has put up an impressive 25.4 points per game this season, going over the 30-point mark five times. Senior quarterback Jesse Fowler has been outstanding in triggering the offense, throwing for 1293 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 555 yards and three touchdowns.”Jesse certainly is the most valuable player to our team. It would be a completely different look without him,” Holey said. “He adds another dimension with his running and his passing has come along nicely.”Fullback Jermaine Patterson has helped in the running game with six touchdowns.But that run attack will be without Julio Arzu, who will miss his fourth game with an injured ankle suffered in a win over Salem.Justin Young leads the English receiving core with 30 catches while Charlie Rucker’s 22 grabs this season helped him break the school record for career receptions.In all, nine players have caught balls and six have caught touchdowns.ON the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Greg Brotherton’s defense went through its growing pains but has shut down the opposition during the Bulldogs winning run.”It was a new scheme defensively and I think the kids were thinking too much and not playing,” Holey said. “But once they got the scheme down, they started playing and have been very physical. That’s something that we’ve preached all year.”The Bulldogs began the season and the Holey era on a rainy Friday at Manning against Beverly.Despite dominating most of the game, a fumble on the three-yard line in the final minutes was the difference in a 6-0 loss to the Panthers.”We almost won that game on physical talent alone,” Holey said. “But what’s happened is these kids have developed confidence and that’s been building.”They have confidence in their ability and believe in one and other.”They rebounded the following week with another dominating effort in a 31-7 win, Holey’s first at his alma mater. The Bulldogs then nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages against Swampscott, almost overcoming a 21-point fourth quarter deficit in a 34-32 loss.English followed with a three-point win at Winthrop and then held off a late charge in a 34-24 win over Marblehead.The win over Salem was followed by a 35-14 defeat of Revere that set up a winner take all showdown in the North against Gloucester.But the Fishermen clinched the title with a 35-7 win. But the Bulldogs rebounded with a 28-6 win over Peabody last week.”The kids have taken positive steps each week and it’s going to be a good game (Thursday),” Holey said.”These two teams are evenly