Classical ousted by Lincoln-Sudbury

SUDBURY – The Lynn Classical football team?s stay in the post-season was a short one, as the Rams dropped their opening round matchup to host Lincoln-Sudbury, 33-22, on Friday.Classical entered halftime trailing just 12-8 before the Warriors came out firing on all cylinders to begin the third period. L-S scored on its first two drives, getting one- and two-yard rushing scores from Greg Roder and Adam Gigliotti, respectively.A Jordan Brown interception toss was sandwiched between the two scoring drives, which left the visitors in an 18-point hole with 3:48 to play in the quarter. The Rams would outscore the Warriors in the final 11 minutes, but ultimately came up just short.The Classical defense forced an L-S punt to start the period before the offense embarked on a time-consuming, 13-play drive resulting in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Brad Scuzzarella. Devin Crayton?s conversion run cut the lead to 10.After an onside kick nearly gave Classical another possession, the Warriors wasted no time in putting the nail in the coffin. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Roder took a pitch play 46 yards to the end zone.The Rams answered right back on their final drive despite being all but down for the count. Brown connected with Justin Avery on a five-yard touchdown pass before L-S kneeled away the rest of the clock.?Our kids played hard to the very end and I think that?s something we can hang our hats on,” said coach Tim Phelps. “We knew they would be a tough team and they were just that. We have nothing to be ashamed of tonight.”The game got off to an interesting start after a Brown fumble at the end of a 45-yard scamper resulted in a turnover. The Rams defense responded with a great series as Adam Lovett had three tackles, including a sack of Ben Colello that forced a punt.Scuzzarella took a handoff on the ensuing play from scrimmage for a 62-yard touchdown run. Avery?s successful conversion run gave Classical an early 8-0 lead at the 5:33 mark.?We had some pretty good plays in that first half, obviously with Brad?s being the biggest,” explained Phelps. “Jordan?s fumble was unfortunate after a great run, but that?s a physical mistake that we can deal with. It?s the mental mistakes that cost us.”The Warriors scored 12 unanswered points to end the opening half. The first of Roder?s three scores cut the lead to two before Colello found Matt Richman on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 9:22 to play in the second quarter.