English gridders run all over Swampscott

LYNN ‐ Unveiling a new offense with a new quarterback, the English football team piled up 530 yards of rushing offense in a convincing 38-7 win over Swampscott, Friday, night, at rainy Manning Field.View Photo GalleryRunning out of an I-formation, halfback Isaiah Davis led the way with 216 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, while Desmond Wilhelmsen added 109 yards (all in the first half) and one score.”They changed their offense, which we were not prepared for,” Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski. “It took us three touchdowns before we lined up correctly.”With D.J. Mullen taking over at quarterback for English, the Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground, and more importantly, kept possession. While turnovers plagued English (2-2) in their first three games, the Bulldogs didn’t turn the ball over on Friday despite the sloppy conditions.As for Swampscott, the Big Blue (1-3) were just overmatched up front, and their spread offense didn’t fare well in the steady rain, which was a factor in a number of drops.”We knew they were bigger than we were, and they have those two monsters at defensive tackle,” Dembowski said. “But we didn’t execute. We’ve got to do a better job of catching the ball.”English took the opening kickoff and marched 55 yards in nine plays, the last of which was a 29-yard scoring run off right tackle by Davis. Wilhelmsen added a 30-yard touchdown run to cap off the next English drive and the Bulldogs led, 12-0, just 5:51 into the game.Swampscott rallied with its lone touchdown of the game, which followed 28-yard passes from Brian Santry to Aaron Cronin and Josh Rothwell. Santry scored on a 4-yard keeper with 2:47 left in the first quarter.English came back with scores on its next two drives, the first culminating with a 31-yard run by Davis and the second ending with a 25-yard run by Josh Michel. The Bulldogs threatened to score again at the end of the first half, but the clock ran out with English on Swampscott’s 1-yard line.Davis effectively put the game away with his third score of the game, an 11-yard sweep on English’s first possession of the third quarter to give the Bulldogs at 32-7 lead. Keenan Barton tacked on the final score of the game on a 1-yard run with 2:11 left in the game.