St. Mary’s football routs Cathedral

LYNN – When a team is completely focused on the particular game at hand, regardless of the sport, there’s virtually nothing the opposing squad can do to stop it.That’s what it was like for the St. Mary’s football team this past Saturday night, as the Spartans capitalized on several Cathedral turnovers to whitewash the Panthers, 45-0, at Manning Field.Click here for a photo gallery.”It was a good team win, as we came out focused,” said Spartans coach Matt Durgin. “We had talked about cutting out the penalties and turnovers, and we knew what we wanted to do. We were ready to play as a group.”Cathedral0St. Mary’s45 St. Mary’s (5-0) got things started on its initial possession. Todd Collier (10-131) cut outside along the far sidelines for 25 yards to the Panthers 30, giving the Spartans a first down. Two plays netted five yards, before Collier got the call again. He started right, turned left, and didn’t stop until he found the end zone (on the first of his trio of touchdowns) less than three minutes into the contest for a 6-0 St. Mary’s lead.Cathedral (3-2) coughed up the ball on its second play, and the Spartans took over at the 33. A five-yard penalty against the guests brought St. Mary’s to the 28. Halfback Nick Day didn’t waste any time, going through the Panthers line to increase the margin to 13-0 just over four minutes in.Cathedral continued to play the role of gracious guests on its next drive, when linebacker Xavier Gonzalez picked off quarterback Ibrahima Diallo (the first of three interceptions he tossed), returning the ball to the Panther 43. A fumble by Collier gave Cathedral the ball back at its 22, but Diallo threw his second interception in as many passes with linebacker Corey Bartlett taking the ball back to the 4. Ryan Barrows (4-27) scored on the next play, and St. Mary’s carried a 19-0 edge into the second quarter.”We lost four players with injuries (in the game), and they (St. Mary’s) took advantage of our turnovers,” Michael Pittman, Cathedral coach, said. “That’s a very good team (we played) and they sent us downhill, and we got trashed.”Both teams again traded turnovers in the opening minutes of the following period, and the Spartans would take advantage. They recovered a Panther fumble near midfield, and on second down, quarterback Luis Rijo lofted a long pass in the direction of Barrows. He outleaped the coverage, and was brought down at the 3. Collier went in on the next play for a 25-0 lead.Diallo was picked off for the third time of the half on third-and-20 from the 14 by Day, giving St. Mary’s the ball at the 21. He got the call on the first (and only) play, heading straight up the middle for his second score, giving the team a 32-0 halftime edge.Collier added his third touchdown midway through the third quarter on a sweep to the right side, and teammate Jake Simpson closed out the scoring midway through the final stanza on a two-yard run.