St. Mary’s football minimizes mistakes, maximizes success

LYNN – Last week against Pope John, the St. Mary’s football squad had seven penalties and fumbled twice. Those were two matters that had coach Matt Durgin very concerned when the Spartans took the field Saturday night against North Reading.But things were better this time. Durgin saw his club penalized only twice. The Spartans also played error-free ball, and blanked the Hornets, 36-0, at Manning Field.North Reading0St. Mary’s36 St. Mary’s (3-0) held North Reading to under 100 yards (92 in all) and only a pair of first downs.”We cleaned up the penalties and the mistakes,” said Durgin. “It was also good to get the shutout, and our defense did a good job.”Like they had done in last week’s game, the Spartans didn’t waste any time in putting up the game’s first points. St. Mary’s opened up with the ball on its 41, and quarterback Jonathan Capano handed off to fullback Xavier Gonzalez (6-76), who burst through a hole, and kept on running until he found the end zone only 20 seconds in. Teammate Todd Collier added the two-point rush for an 8-0 edge.The Hornets (0-3) went three-and-out on their first possession, and St. Mary’s took over at North Reading’s 47. Runs by backs Nick Day and Collier (8-56) brought the ball to the 38, where, on third-and-1, Ryan Barrows cut around the left side for a first down to the 25. Day (7-48) netted the first of his three scores moments later on a 13-yard burst to increase the lead to 14-0.The Hornets followed with their best opportunity when they regained the ball late in the quarter. On first down from the North Reading 47, quarterback Ryley Warnock (2-9-0-53) ran out of the pocket, and hit Jamie Mantho along the far sidelines. Mantho outran everyone before being knocked out of bounds at the Spartans 10. Keeping the ball on the ground, back Nick Rosano (16-35) was able to spot the ball on the 2, where the team had a fourth down. Warnock hit Mantho in the back of the end zone for an apparent score, but he caught the ball out of bounds, and St. Mary’s took over.”We just weren’t able to get it done,” said North Reading coach Jeff Wall about the opportunity. “They (St. Mary’s) have great skills on both sides (of the ball), and they’re a solid team.”The Spartans added to their lead just before halftime. They held the Hornets to their own 35, where St. Mary’s began its drive. A 15-yard penalty pushed the team back to the 40, upon gaining what would have been a first down at the 25, but that had no effect on the Spartans. Capano hit Collier and receiver Luis Rijo with completions of eight and ten yards, respectively, to bring the team to the 22. Back Sam Scranton gained five yards to the 17, where St. Mary’s faced a fourth-and-2. Barrows (6-67) gained three yards to spot the ball on the 14, where Capano found Day on the next play with the touchdown pass.Day added a 17-yard run in the third period, while Barrows closed the scoring with a 33-yarder in the final stanza.”We’re very fortunate to have three backs (Day, Collier, Barrows) that run the ball hard,” added Durgin. “Our two fullbacks (Gonzalez and Scranton) also ran well. And Jonathan (Capano) did a good job throwing the ball.”