Classical football team falls to tough CM

WEST ROXBURY – In its first game of the season, the Lynn Classical football team came up just short of a win.Cath. Mem.21Classical14 Host Catholic Memorial pulled out a 21-14 decision thanks to Armani Reeves’ 73-yard touchdown catch from quarterback A.J. Doyle -with 27 seconds left on the clock.”The throw was great,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “The kid ran underneath. Reeves is a big-time player.”We were looking to sit back a little bit and make the big play,” Phelps said.Actually, quite a few players delivered big-time performances on both ends of the ball in a back-and-forth, entertaining and multifaceted game.It originally appeared that CM might march to victory before its home crowd much earlier, as the Knights scored on their opening possession.Just as Hurricane Earl swirled past Massachusetts last week, Knights running back William Earl glided 19 yards for a touchdown to make it 6-0 at the 7:48 mark of the first quarter.While the PAT attempt failed, the Knights got the ball back about five minutes later, when Donovan Henry made his first pick of the night on Rams quarterback Nick Grassa.Like John Paul Jones, though, the Rams had not yet begun to fight. Grassa nearly got a pick of his own when he broke up a Doyle pass on third-and-8 to thwart a CM drive.The Knights punted and the Rams tied the game on a drive marked by two fantastic catches from Keith Nance – the first a 26-yarder to the CM 49, the second a 47-yard touchdown catch 4:35 before halftime.Grassa took it in for a two-point conversion and an 8-6 lead that stayed the score at halftime.In the third quarter, the Knights revealed their versatility, taking an 11-8 lead on two rarities of high school football: a safety and a field goal.The safety came after two penalties put the Rams in a precarious position: second and 12 on their 1-yard line. The Knights defense did the rest and it was 8-8 at 9:36 of the third period.Reeves returned the free kick to the Classical 29, and while the defense forced a fourth-and-4 on the Rams’ 14, Knights kicker Tom Byrne connected from 30-plus yards out for a three-point advantage at 6:31.Classical wasn’t done. Nance ran for a first down on a 10-yard scamper to the Knights’ 49 ? and hauled in a Grassa pass for 24 yards to the CM 17.Classical solved the defense as the fourth quarter opened when Grassa ran for a 2-yard score on fourth-and-goal to put the Rams up 14-11.Yet mistakes hurt Classical. First, the two-point try failed as a penalty was called.Second, an onside kick attempt nearly succeeded – but another penalty nullified it.Classical forced CM into a fourth-and-12 on the Rams’ 17, but Byrne again connected on a 30-plus-yard field goal to tie the score at 14-all.CM’s Dimitri Claude picked off Grassa on the ensuing Rams drive ? and the Knights showed a finishing touch with Reeves’ last-second score, Byrne’s PAT and Henry’s second interception of the night.The teams played last year at Manning Field, with the Knights scoring a shutout over Classical.