St. Mary’s continues recent dominance over Tech

LYNN – The season may not have played out precisely as St. Mary’s had hoped it might, but the Spartans put an exclamation point on another successful year with Wednesday night’s 52-8 romp past Lynn Tech at Manning Field.View Photo GallerySt. Mary’s (7-4) scored on each of its seven offensive possessions, rolled up 377 total yards (371 rushing), and threw in an interception return for a score for good measure. Conversely, Tech (4-6) lost three turnovers and managed zero net yards from scrimmage through the first three quarters. Twelve of the Tigers’ 31 plays resulted in negative yardage.Spartans’ wingbacks senior Jordan Manthorne (9 carries, 114 yards, 2 TDs) and junior Connor Sakowich (3 carries, 162 yards, 2 TDs) ran wild as St. Mary’s offensive line gashed a Tigers’ defense that started eight sophomores.”We were ready to go – we had a good week. I’ve always thought we were a very good team and that the teams we lost to (in our league) were very good teams,” St. Mary’s coach Matt Durgin said. “Jordan and Connor have been consistent all year and we got a nice effort out of the offensive line. It’s a great way to send the seniors out.”The onslaught began immediately as Sakowich dashed 49 yards for the score on the game’s third play and Manthorne added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead in the second minute.A partially blocked punt set St. Mary’s up at the Tech 36 with 7:21 left in the quarter. Six plays later Manthorne bounced in from the 11 for the game-winning score and a 14-0 lead.Sakowich sprinted 79 yards for his second with 2:18 left in the quarter and quarterback Antonio Felix flipped a six-yard scoring strike to Abraham Toe on the period’s final play for a 28-0 lead.Manthorne (25 yards) and Paul Halas (16 yards) added second-quarter scores for a 40-0 halftime lead. Gaeta’s 45-yard interception return on the fourth play of the second half made it 46-0 and Brandon Milton scooted in from 18 yards to conclude St. Mary’s scoring early in the fourth quarter.Despite being harassed all evening and sacked five times for minus-37 yards, Tech’s junior quarterback Rafy Lora persevered and directed a 79-yard scoring drive on the game’s final possession. He shook free for a pair of long runs, setting up Nelson Lopez’s 14-yard touchdown on the final carry of his career. Justin Lewis added the two-point conversion on a well-executed fake PAT to account for the final.”I’m proud of Rafy for hanging in there and doing what he was able to do. We made mistakes and their (St. Mary’s) girth up front made a big difference. Thirteen plays in the first half and 40 points speaks for itself,” said Tech coach James Runner.