Football: Newburyport foils Winthrop

Winthrop came within 57 seconds of claiming the NEC/CAL Tier 3 championship Friday night at Miller Field. Instead, Newburyport did what it’s done several times this year – steal a last-minute 12-7 win to claim the league title and the playoff berth that goes with it.Junior Connor Wile’s division-leading 20th touchdown pass of the year, a seven-yarder to senior Brett Fontaine with 57 seconds left, capped Newburyport’s fourth come-from-behind win of the year – this despite the fact the Clippers committed an astonishing nine turnovers. However, the Vikings (3-2, 5-5) turned only one of those miscues into points and were guilty of six turnovers as well.Newburyport trailed, 7-0, when Jim Conway recovered a fumbled punt snap for a touchdown that sliced the gap to 7-6 with 3:55 to play. The Clippers then recovered Winthrop’s fifth fumble of the game at their own 41 with 2:51 left and sailed off on the game-winning 59-yard march. Wile (298 yards passing), who fought through three interceptions, converted fourth-and-13 and fourth-and-seven completions to Fontaine (13 catches, 166 yards) to sustain the drive.Ultimately, it boiled down to Winthrop’s inability to cash in on Newburyport’s mistakes. The Clippers’ defense stopped the Vikings four times on downs inside the Newburyport 25. The Vikings’ only score came on quarterback James Barker’s one-yard run early in the second quarter, on the first play following a Newburyport fumble. The Clippers had turned back Winthrop on fourth-and-goal from the seven just two plays earlier.Newburyport dominated statistically, piling up a 339-152 yard advantage in total offense and ripping off 19 first downs. Sophomore Jordan Corbett-Frank powered Winthrop with 91 yards rushing.Winthrop finishes on Thanksgiving against Revere with both teams chasing the same goal – a winning season. Newburyport takes on Amesbury on the holiday and will face the NEC/CAL Tier 4 champion, likely Hamilton-Wenham, in the playoff semifinals.B.C. High 7, St. John’s 0B.C. High quarterback Bartley Regan Jr. pitched a 17-yard TD pass to Gordon McLeod Jr. for the game’s lone score with a little more than a minute to play, settling a tense defensive struggle in Dorchester. Regan now has 16 TD passes this season, nine of them to McLeod.Lucas Bavaro (two passes defended) continued his excellent two-way play for the Prep while Jonathan Thomas paced the offense with 14 carries for 59 yards.B.C. High improved to 3-0 (7-3 overall) and remained on track for a Catholic Conference championship. Prep (1-2, 4-5) will look to secure a .500 season Thanksgiving Day against Xaverian.Masconomet 28, Revere 7In Topsfield, the Patriots (1-4, 5-5) played Masco to a 7-all halftime standstill. Masco (3-1, 6-4) pulled away after the break, scoring on its first two possessions, first after halting a Revere drive at the Masco 40 and then after recovering a fumble on the Patriots’ second possession.”Before you knew it, it was 21-7 and then they added a late score. We played well on defense but we squandered our chances with two many turnovers. Now we have to go and get the winning season on Thanksgiving,” said coach Lou Cicatelli. “That’s the biggest game of the year.”Drew Lauria scored the Patriots’ TD on a 10-yard run and Jeff Simbert converted the PAT.Danvers 42, Salem 28In Danvers, the Falcons snapped a four-game losing streak and picked up their first NEC/CAL Tier 2 win of the year, improving to 1-3 (4-6). Salem slipped to 0-4 (1-9).Danvers rode senior Nick Valles, exploded for 253 yards rushing and three TDs on 29 carries. Sophomores Alex Grant (two TDs) and Alex Valles (TD) combined for another 145 yards on the ground.”We just got on Nick’s back and rode him. The offensive line did a phenomenal job blocking at the point of attack,” said Danvers coach Sean Rogers.