St. Mary’s goes a long way on a few plays

LYNN – St. Mary’s only ran four plays in the first quarter of Friday night’s 42-0 win over Greater Lowell, but let’s just say the Spartans got a lot of bang for their buck.After taking possession on the Greater Lowell 37 (thanks to a 12-yard loss on a fourth-and-four), Jordan Manthorne got the call and promptly ran 37 yards for a 6-0 St. Mary’s lead less than two minutes into the game.Greater Lowell got the ball back and was forced to punt, setting the stage for the Spartans’ next lightning strike – a 56-yard touchdown run by Connor Sakowich on second-and-nine. John Gaeta ran it in for two and with a little over five minutes left in the quarter, St. Mary’s had a 14-0 lead.It looked like the Gryphons might stem the bleeding when Parvel Auguste returned the ensuing kick-off 60 yards (it would have been a touchdown if Sakowich hadn’t hauled him down in the open field). The good field position went to waste, however, when the drive sputtered inside the 10.If a play could ever suck the wind out of a team’s sails, it was the Spartans next one. Manthorne (13 carried, 190 yards, 2 touchdowns) got the ball on first-and-10 at the St. Mary’s 10 and raced 90 yards for a touchdown, making a nice cut around the Gryphon 40 to ditch a couple of defenders along the way. Paul Halas ran for two and with 1:47 left in the first quarter, St. Mary’s was up 22-0.”I’ve got to give our kids credit. They came out ready to go and they played hard,” St. Mary’s coach Matt Durgin said. “Manthorne’s been so consistent. No matter who we’re playing, he plays hard every single play on both sides of the ball.”When Manthorne wasn’t doing his thing, it was Sakowich doing the damage. The junior scored his second touchdown on a five-yard run with a little over four minutes left in the first half to give the Spartans a 28-0 lead at the half.The Gryphons mounted what was shaping up to be their best drive of the night to open the third quarter. They got to the 12-yard line when quarterback Nick Rosetti threw his second interception of the game. Manthorne picked the ball off at the St. Mary’s 1-yard line and raced 99 yards for what looked to be another touchdown.A St. Mary’s hold at midfield brought the ball back to the Spartan 40, but Greater Lowell’s relief didn’t last. On the first play from scrimmage, St. Mary’s quarterback Antonio Felix threw a 60-yard touchdown strike up the middle of the field to Sackowich, who reeled it in and run the final 35 yards for a 34-0 St. Mary’s lead (the rush failed). Sakowich finished with 74 yards rushing, two rushing touchdowns and a touchdown reception.The Spartans final touchdown came late in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by freshman Calvin Johnson. Marlon Scott ran for the conversion. The Spartans (6-4) racked up 320 yards on the ground and 60 passing. Greater Lowell (0-10) ran for 84 yards on 37 carried and Rosetti threw for 14 yards with two interceptions.”We guaranteed ourselves a winning record, which is good,” Durgin said, giving both teams credit for coming out and battling it out on every play.