Balanced effort helps Classical defeat Wakefield

WAKEFIELD – It was a complete performance in all phases for the Lynn Classical football team on Thursday night at Landrigan Field.Classical forced six turnovers, returned an interception for a touchdown, blocked a punt for a safety and held Wakefield in negative rushing yards until the game was well in hand en route to a 34-14 win over the Warriors.”That is the kind of defensive team that we’re hoping to have all year,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “We talked about it all this week. They made mistakes and we were able to capitalize.”The Rams (1-1) held the Middlesex League power to only eight first downs, and after giving up a touchdown to fall behind 7-6 in the first quarter, forced five turnovers and a punt on Wakefield’s next six possessions.”I’ve been here a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that,” Wakefield coach Mike Boyages said about the turnovers. “This was a tough one for us.”Wakefield got the ball to start the game and the turnover flaw showed up immediately when Chevere Archer blasted tailback Ervin St. Jean in the backfield to force a fumble that Buddy Ford recovered for the Rams at the Wakefield 40.”Chevere is a great athlete and he’s worked super hard in the offseason,” Phelps said.The Rams cashed in on the chance four plays later when Rudy Cullymore swept off tackle and went 39 yards on third-and-20 for a touchdown and a 6-0 Classical lead (Nick Grassa’s extra point was blocked).”That play was blocked perfectly,” Phelps said. “And that’s what we tried to clean up this week.”The lead for the Rams lasted all of 21 seconds as St. Jean ripped off a 26-yard gain on the next Wakefield snap. A personal foul on the Rams tacked on 15 more yards to the Classical 16, from where Zach Duffy hit Shane Taylor on a slant for a touchdown and a 7-6 lead after Connor O’Brien’s extra point.From there on, though, it was all Rams.Early in the second quarter, Classical saw a lengthy drive stall inside the Wakefield 20. One play later, Jasper Grassa stole back all the momentum for the Rams.Duffy rolled left and threw across his body for Matt Lincoff over the middle. Grassa stepped in front of the receiver and returned the ball 30 yards for a score and a 12-6 lead.After the teams exchanged punts, Classical forced another turnover when Duffy was sacked and fumbled. Ricky Bigwood recovered for the Rams at the Warriors 20.A holding penalty momentarily stopped Classical’s momentum and forced the Rams into a third-and-24 at the Warrior 34. Nick Grassa and Casey Johnson, though, got Classical out of the predicament as Johnson outjumped a defender to make a stellar catch along the right sideline for a touchdown and an 18-6 lead at halftime.”It’s nice to not have just that one go-to guy that everyone can key on,” Phelps said.Classical got the ball to start the second half and didn’t waste much time in sending many Warrior fans to the exits. Jaquan Huston ripped off a 30-yard run on the second play of the third quarter and Kashaun Avery followed with a 33-yard touchdown run that upped the gap to 25-7 just 1:01 into the third.Two possessions later, Avery recovered Wakefield’s seventh fumble of the night at the Warrior 19. Five plays later, Huston went in from seven yards out to give Classical a 32-7 lead.All that was left was for the special teams to get into the act and they did on the next possession as Connor O’Brien’s punt was blocked through the back of the end zone for a safety and a 34-7 lead.