English loss puts Masco in driver’s seat

LYNN – In the middle of sloppy weather, Masconomet was able to take advantage of sloppy play by English, to trounce their hosts 39-7 at Manning Field on Friday night.View Photo GalleryThe Chieftains were able to take advantage of six interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and the inability of the Bulldogs to convert in key situations.The win puts Masconomet clearly in the driver’s seat for the Northeastern Conference/Cape Ann League Tier 1 title. The Chieftains only have to beat Revere next week and they’ll make the post-season.The opening drive for English suggested the contest would be a back and forth struggle that many expected, with sophomore quarterback Lucas Harris leading the offense downfield on quick decisions and completed passes. When Harris found Kyle O’Connor on a 33-yard touchdown pass, the Bulldogs had promptly marched down field and claimed at 7-0 lead, which they carried through the end of the first quarter.At the start of the second quarter, Masconomet started to find their offensive rhythm, after the English defense looked stout and difficult to solve. The Chieftains were afforded the opportunity more often than they should have as English twice handed the ball back to Masconomet on interceptions, and on two other drives were unable to execute well enough to continue drives.The Chieftains did not squander their opportunities, with quarterback Chris Schleer throwing two touchdown passes to help give Masconomet an 18-7 lead at the half.The Bulldogs’ last and best chance to score came just before halftime, when they found themselves on their own 30-yard line and 1:04 remaining on the clock Harris connected with O’Connon and Keenan Benton on several long passes to set up a 1st-and-goal opportunity from seven yards out. Unfortunately for English, two pass attempts came up short.”We had our opportunities in this game, but we had too many turnovers,” said English coach Peter Holey. “They did not do anything different on defense after that first drive, we just started to turn the ball over.”In the second half, the Masconomet offense performed well enough to put some points on the scoreboard, however it was English’s four additional turnovers that effectively ended any hope they had of making a comeback.Forced into a one-dimensional passing attack by the start of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs found themselves pushing on offense and taking chances. With under four minutes remaining in the game, and English already down 25-7, those chances resulting in interceptions returned 38 and 85 yards for touchdowns.