Late Classical football bid falls short

LYNN – In a seesaw battle for Northeastern Conference/South supremacy, Classical was stopped on 4th-and-1 by Danvers with 35.7 seconds left and the Falcons survived with a 29-26 victory at Manning Field on Friday night.Classical tailback Devin Crayton ran for eight yards on first down from the 35. The Rams (2-3, 2-1) could only gain one more yard in the next three plays.”Every play we draw up is for a touchdown, so it wasn’t executed,” said Classical head coach Tim Phelps. “We have to do a better job.”Danvers running back Chris Behen scored the winning touchdown on a 21-yard run where he eluded several tackles with cutbacks along the right side of the field.Danvers held a 29-20 lead, but Classical refused to go away. On the third play of the Rams’ next drive, Crayton scrambled 52 yards up the middle as he ran untouched into the end zone to cut the deficit to three points with 2:50 left. The Rams failed on their two-point conversion attempt.The Falcons ran an unsuccessful fake punt as Classical received the ball in Danvers territory. Classical was denied when their power running game led by Crayton (two touchdowns) and Brad Scuzzarella (one score) were unable to find any holes in Danvers’ front seven.Danvers (4-1, 3-0) also came up with a big defensive stop in the middle of the second quarter. Classical started a drive at the Danvers’ 45 with a 14-7 advantage. Justin Avery had a 24-yard run to give the Rams a first down. On second down, the Rams couldn’t connect on a pass that fell incomplete, but was intended for a receiver near the left pylon of the end zone. Two plays later, the Rams turned the ball over on downs at the Falcons’ 12.Danvers drove 88 yards on the ensuing possession and chewed up nearly the rest of the quarter before Alex Valles scored the second of his two touchdowns. Anthony Cordoba converted the two points to give Danvers a 15-14 lead with 1:46 left until halftime.”The defensive line played real well keeping our linebackers free,” said Danvers head coach Sean Rogers. “They don’t get enough credit, but our line played well.”Crayton led all backs with 164 rushing yards. Alex Valles gained 133 yards for Danvers.With both teams fighting for a possible postseason spot, Danvers was able to make the critical plays in the end.