LYNN – Lynn English coach Peter Holey scheduled his team’s game with No. 1 ranked Xaverian on Friday at Manning Field to get an idea of where his team stood on the brink of opening play in the NEC North.Xaverian24English7 Well, the Bulldogs acquitted themselves pretty well on Friday against the powerful Hawks.For as well as English played, however, Xaverian was a little bit better en route to a 24-7 win that was closer than the score might indicate.Twice in the opening half, English (3-2) drove the ball inside the Xaverian 30 yard line but came out with no points and had another drive late in the third quarter stopped by an interception.”We had some opportunities and we created those,” Holey said. “We were right there and played our tails off. Xaverian is a hell of a team and they came out with an intensity that we haven’t seen yet this year.”The Hawks (5-0) were so good up front that quarterback Chris Calvanese needed to throw only four times all game. Instead, he gave the ball to tailbacks Joe Colton and Chris Tamasi and watched them run for 197 and 123 yards respectively.”They were determined to pound the ball and they had success with that against our three man line,” Holey said. “When we switched to four and five defensive linemen, I thought we did a pretty good job against them.”English went three-and-out to begin the game and a short punt gave the Hawks good field position at the Bulldog 49. Colton went to work from there, carrying on nine of 10 plays in the drive that he capped with a five yard jaunt for a 7-0 lead after Jules Murphy’s PAT.The Bulldog defense came up with a big stand early in the second quarter as Derek Stevens sacked Calvanese for a 22-yard loss on fourth and 14 at the English 34. Tyllor McDonald (10-of-26, 166 yards, 2 INT) scrambled for 14 yards to the Xaverian 30 but the Hawks dug in and shut down the drive from there.Colton then doubled the Xaverian lead when he went 49 yards untouched on a third-and-four play to make it 14-0 with 5:51 left in the half. English would get a big play on the first snap of the next series when McDonald hit Dariace Miranda for a 68-yard gain to the Xaverian 17.Three incompletions and a run later, Xaverian had held on downs and then made it 21-0 quickly when Tamasi raced 65 yards for a score.English responded with 1:16 left in the half as McDonald capped an 81 yard drive with a 26 yard scramble for a touchdown that made it 21-7 at the break.Xaverian would dominate the third quarter, running 16 plays to English’s three and extending the lead to 24-7 on a 30-yard Murphy field goal with 2:09 left.English came right back with a 34-yard McDonald to Travonne Berry-Rogers completion but a gain the Hawks stoned the drive with a Mike Muir interception. Ryan Farrell would add a pick late in the fourth quarter to put the kibosh on hopes of an English comeback.