Cardinal Spellman outlasts St. Mary’s

LYNN – In the end, the St. Mary’s defense, which had been on the field a majority of Saturday night’s contest against Spellman, became a victim of exhaustion in the fourth quarter.The Spartans allowed two quick scores to Cardinals halfback Blaise Branch (within the first four minutes of the period), and suffered their first loss of the fall, 18-6, to their Catholic Central League Large rival at Manning Field.Spellman18St. Mary’s6 With the game tied at 6, St. Mary’s began the quarter with a fourth-and 2 at Spellman’s 37. The ball was given to back Todd Collier (12-43), but he was pushed back to the 39, and the Cardinals (7-0) took over.Branch (25-141) carried to midfield on the team’s initial play of the possession. Teammate Jared Lordi brought the ball to the 46, then Branch gave the team a first down at the Spartans 37 with his nine-yard run. A pass interference call moved the Cardinals to the 32, and then Branch, who had 75 rushing yards in the final 11 minutes, split through the St. Mary’s defense and into the end zone to give Spellman a 12-6 edge with eight minutes remaining.St. Mary’s (6-1) took over at its 39, but a double reverse was fumbled away, and Spellman linebacker Chris Ballard recovered at the 28. A dead ball foul moved the Cardinals to St. Mary’s 14, and Branch scored on a seven-yard run on the team’s second play.The Spartans were able to move to Spellman’s 29 on their next possession, but lost another fumble. After holding the Cardinals, St. Mary’s drove to Spellman’s 21 on its following drive, but four straight incompletions ended the Spartans’ chances.”The effort the kids gave was unbelievable,” said Spartans coach Matt Durgin. “Spellman’s a very good team, and they were bigger up front than we were, but our defense was outstanding. Our guys never quit, and they showed their character.”St. Mary’s went three-and-out to begin the game, and the Cardinals took over at midfield. Branch worked his way for five yards on second down, and quarterback Zac Cooney gave the team a first down at the Spartans 34. Moments later, facing a fourth-and-6 at the 30, Cooney (9-15-2-96) found a wide-open Kevin Crane (4-60) with the ball and the game’s first points.The Spartans fumbled the ball away on the first play on their ensuing possession, with the Cardinals taking over at the 38. Another fourth down situation from St. Mary’s 21 saw Cooney connecting with Lordi in the back of the end zone for an apparent score, but the receiver was ruled out of bounds. St. Mary’s regained possession, and on the second play, quarterback Jonathan Capano (5-12-0-98) hit Nick Day (3-87) at midfield. Day, who beat double coverage, outraced everyone into the end zone as time expired in the period. The points were the first ones allowed by Spellman’s starting defense unit all year.”That’s a very good offense that they have,” said Spellman coach Ron St. George. “We (the starting defense) hadn’t given up a TD all year, and to hold that team to one touchdown, you have to be fortunate.”St. Mary’s picked off Cooney twice in the second quarter on successive possessions, by defensive back Ryan Barrows and linebacker Xavier Gonzalez. The Cardinals were able to drive to the Spartans 25, but Gonzalez stepped in front of the pass to give St. Mary’s the ball at its 11 with just under two minutes to go in the half.Perhaps the best defensive play by the bend-but-don’t-break defense of the Spartans came on Spellman’s initial drive of the second half. Beginning at their 39, the Cardinals picked up three first downs, with Branch able to convert runs into key yardage. The team marched to St. Mary’s 13, where it faced a fourth-and-1. Branch was given the ball, but he was met by Day and Collier, who held him shy of the first down marker.”We didn’t move the ball as well as we liked, as our defense was on the field a lot,” added Durgin. “But we were very physical, with Collier, (linebacker Corey) Bartlett, (and linebacker D.J.) Webster giving us some great play.”