English has chances, but Swampscott wins

SWAMPSCOTT – Perhaps Swampscott football coach Steve Dembowski should devise a patent on how to bring a team from the agony of defeat to the jaws of victory.English21Swampscott27 For the third straight week, the Big Blue turned a halftime deficit into an improbable victory. Trailing 21-7 at the half to English, Swampscott (5-1) not only held the Bulldogs scoreless, but ran off 20 unanswered points on the way to a 27-21 win at Blocksidge Field Saturday.Click here for a photo gallery.With the score tied at 21 early in the final period, the Bulldogs coughed it up at their own 26. Swampscott’s Phillip Larkin gained two yards, then quarterback Michael Walsh (70 yards on 20 carries) picked up the first down with a nine-yard jaunt to the 15. He then found receiver A.J. Baker on a screen to the left side, and Baker (3 catches, 25 yards) ambled into the end zone untouched to give Swampscott the victory margin.English (3-3) recovered the ensuing kick at the Big Blue 40. Quarterback Tyllor McDonald (29-172) converted a third-and-8 into a first down at Swampscott’s 30 with his up-the-middle run. Three plays later, he teamed with receiver Travonne Berry-Rogers for 11 yards and another first down, spotting the ball at the Big Blue 15. McDonald fumbled on third down, with Big Blue DB Jake McDougall recovering.The Bulldogs had still another chance in the closing seconds. Cornerback Neil Whittredge recovered a fumble at the English 31 with just under two minutes left. McDonald (12-for-24, 125 yards) connected with Berry-Rogers (6 catches, 101 yards) at midfield, and then found Whittredge at Swampscott’s 43. McDonald ran out of the pocket and down the near sidelines to the 10 with less then a minute left.However, four straight incompletions, including a fourth-down knockdown in the end zone by defensive back Brian Sullivan, cemented the win for Swampscott.”That’s three weeks in a row that we didn’t accomplish anything (in the first half) and found ourselves behind by 14 or more points,” said Dembowski. “We’ve killed ourselves in the first half, and English out-physicaled us. It’s been frustrating (in the first half), but rewarding (the wins).”Swampscott, with only 47 yards of offense in the first half, made up for it in the second half. Starting at his own 22, Walsh ran for 21 yards, then hit a wide-open Peter Yasi (4-61), for 45 yards to the English 12. Another Walsh-Yasi pass put the ball on the 5, and Walsh scored two plays later to cut the deficit to 21-14.After English went three and out, Swampscott used a gadget play to tie the game. With a third-and-7 at his own 37, Walsh tossed an inside pitch to Larkin, who, in turn, pitched to teammate Patrick Costin coming from the right. Costin then pitched back to Walsh, who fired downfield to a wide-open Zach Beerman, who finished off the 57-yard triple reverse flea-flicker by taking it down to the 6. Walsh hit Baker on a screen on the next play to tie the game.”We were expecting some trick plays,” said English coach Peter Holey. “Hats off to Swampscott, but we reverted back to our old ways from a couple of years ago (in the second half). There was no reason why we should’ve lost this game.”The Bulldogs took the game’s opening kickoff for a 16-play, 70-yard drive McDonald capped it off with a five-yard score. Swampscott answered quickly, with Nick Mennino returning the kick to the English 30. English was flagged for pass interference, putting the ball at the 15. Moments later, Walsh scored from the 3-yard line to tie the game.McDonald added his second score midway through the quarter to give a 14-7 edge to the guests, and then – after picking off a pass on Swampscott’s next possession – fired a 33-yard strike to Berry-Rogers to extend the lead to 21-7.