English rebounds from tough loss to upend Danvers

LYNN ? After last week’s demoralizing loss to Beverly, the English High football team could have gone either way – into the tank, or back into the win column.It turned out to be the latter on Friday at Manning Field, where the Bulldogs (3-1) fought off a determined Danvers (3-1) team and emerged with a 28-18 victory. Quarterback Tyllor MacDonald generated 231 yards of total offense and scored on a 5-yard run, while running back Jermaine Patterson rushed for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.Click here for a photo gallery of last night’s game”The thing we wanted to do was not come out flat,” English coach Peter Holey said. “We were loose all week. We wanted to play a more physical game than we did last week, and I think we did that (Friday).”English made three critical fourth down conversions that probably decided the game. In the first half, Holey went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Danvers 2-yard line, and got a touchdown run from Christian Figueroa.With 5:51 left in the game, the Bulldogs went for it on fourth-and-5 from their own 46, and MacDonald hit Travonne Berry-Rogers for 27 yards.”I was kind of out on an island with that (call in the fourth quarter),” Holey said. “All the (assistant coaches) wanted me to (punt), but if you want to be a good team, you have to be able to pick up first downs.”Eight plays later, English went for it again on fourth-and-1 from the Danvers 6, and Patterson picked up exactly one yard. He scored on a 2-yard run two plays later to put the game away.Eric Burgos scored a pair of touchdowns for Danvers, but was mostly contained as English’s defense limited him to 61 yards on 18 carries. Greg Ladd added a 20-yard field goal for the Falcons’ other score.”We just didn’t take advantage of some opportunities we had,” Danvers coach John Sullivan said. Our kids fought hard, but they defensed us pretty well. They have some pretty good athletes who cover the field pretty well.”The teams traded scores on their opening drives of the game. Patterson capped a 60-yard, 11-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Danvers answered with a 50-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard run by Burgos on a pitchout to the right side. Both teams made 2-point conversions and the first quarter ended in an 8-8 tie.English scored on its second drive, another 60-yard march that consisted of nine straight runs by Patterson and MacDonald, and culminated with Figueroa’s 2-yard scoring jaunt around right end.The Falcons drove to English’s 2-yard line with just over a minute left in the half, but had to settle for a field goal by Ladd on fourth-and-goal to make the score 14-11 in favor of the Bulldogs at halftime.English also scored on its opening drive of the second half, a 9-play, 50-yard march that included a 17-yard pass from MacDonald to Ryan Woumn (70 yards-7 catches) on third-and-6. Two plays later, MacDonald dashed in on a draw to make the score 21-11.Danvers found some room for its tight ends in the seams of English’s secondary during a drive that started late in the third quarter and ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Burgos with 7:36 left to play.English then took the ball 69 yards in 13 plays, the two biggest of which were the fourth down conversions. Patterson’s second touchdown run sealed the game.The game was marred by a wild fight under the home-side stands in the fourth quarter. At least one spectator was knocked to the ground and appeared to be unconscious for several seconds, and the brawl spilled up into the bleachers before order was restored by school personnel and Lynn Police.