Classical puts it all together against Witches

LYNN ? Now that the Lynn Classical football team has all its weapons available, look out for the Rams.Four different players scored at least one touchdown and Classical gained 396 yards of offense to rout Salem, 41-14, Friday night, at Manning Field, The win was the first of the season for the Rams (1-2). Salem fell to 0-3.?The kids were excited in the locker room after the game,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “We had the bye last week, so we were 0-2 for two weeks. It’s good to get our first win.”Friday’s game marked the return of bruising running back Devin Crayton (13 carries-83 yards, TD) from an ankle injury, and Crayton’s rugged running complemented the outside speed of Brad Scuzzarella (20 carries-143 yards, 2 TDs) and quick strikes up the middle from fullback Justin Avery (14 carries-83 yards). Avery also caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Brown, who also ran for a score.?He (Crayton) gives them another dimension,” Salem coach Scott Connolly said. “We knew he’s a big, strong kid who’s tough to bring down. You think you’ve got him at the line of scrimmage and he gains three or four yards.”The Witches had a couple of their own highlights, a 78-yard return of the opening kickoff by Anferne Jimenez and a 75-yard rushing touchdown by Aaron Palmer, but Salem was unable to get the Rams’ ball control offense off the field. Classical possessed the ball for an incredible 34:36, leaving the Witches able to run only 23 plays from scrimmage.?We did some good things, but we just have to be able to put everything together for 44 minutes,” Connolly said.Jimenez busted up the middle through a huge hole to give Salem a 7-0 lead on the opening kickoff, but Scuzzarella set up the Rams at Salem’s 48-yard line with a nice return of the ensuing kickoff. It took Classical 10 plays to score and Avery took care of the last seven yards with a run up the middle.After a Salem punt, Classical took the lead with a quick 4-play, 40-yard drive that featured two long runs by Scuzzarella and a 5-yard scoring blast off left tackle by Crayton. Salem answered right back with Palmer’s 75-yard scoring run around right end, which came on the first play from scrimmage after the Rams’ kickoff.Classical grabbed the lead for good with a signature 85-yard, 16-play drive on its next series. Salem forced a 4th-and-5 from the Witches’ 7-yard line, but Brown kept the ball on an option to the right and eased into the end zone. A sack by Chandler Laguerre and Avery for a loss of 17 yards on Salem’s next drive helped give the Rams good field position again at the Witches’ 37-yard line with 1:49 left in the first half. Three plays later, Scuzzarella scored from six yards out to give the Rams a 28-14 lead they took into halftime.?That touchdown right before the end of the half hurt,” Connolly said.Classical took the second half kickoff and marched 75 yards in 12 running plays, the last of which was a 6-yard scoring rush by Scuzzarella. A fumbled pitchout ended Salem’s first offensive drive of the second half, and the Rams capitalized with their final touchdown of the game. On 4th-and-10, Brown threw a screen pass to Avery along the right sideline, and he rumbled 29 yards to make the score 41-14,with 1:32 left in the third quarter.