Williams runs through St. Mary’s

LYNN – As the saying goes, this one came out of left field.View Photo GalleryWith showdowns against Catholic Central League/Large heavies Cardinal Spellman and Bishop Fenwick laying on the horizon, the St. Mary’s football team ran squarely into the battering ram that was Archbishop Williams’ Derek Khnaizir on Friday night at Manning Field.The senior tailback carried 33 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns to lead a Bishops offense that dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball en route to a stunning 33-6 victory over the Spartans.”They took it to us,” St. Mary’s coach Matt Durgin said. “Give them credit. They were great on both sides of the ball. We just couldn’t find a way to get off the field on defense.”How dominant was Williams on offense Friday? In the first half alone, they ran 33 plays compared to six for St. Mary’s and ended up with a 56-22 advantage in plays for the game.The tone for the evening was set off the opening kickoff when the Bishops took the ball and mixed hard running from Khnaizir with play-action passes by quarterback Jack Rega (9-of-12, 106 yards, TD) to drive 64 yards in 10 plays that took six minutes off the clock. Rega capped the drive with a one-yard sneak for a 7-0 lead.The ensuing kickoff then bounced off a leg of one of the Spartans upmen and was recovered by Williams’ Pat Earner at the St. Mary’s 34. Six plays and 3:01 later, Marcus McBean powered in from the one and the Bishops had a 13-0 lead before St. Mary’s even got a chance to run an offensive play.St. Mary’s would run only two plays in the first quarter and another to begin the second before being forced to punt.That gave the ball back to the red hot Williams offense, which proceeded on another clock consumng drive that took almost the rest of the first half.Khnaizir did most of the work as he toted the rock on nine of 18 plays but it was Rega who capped the drive with a six yard pass to wide receiver Ryan Earle on fourth and goal with :17 left to stake the Bishops to a 19-0 halftime lead.”They were able to run it well and (Rega) threw the ball well,” Durgin said.The Spartans got the second half kick and needed something good to happen. Connor Sakowich provided what seemed like the spark St. Mary’s needed when he broke five tackles and went 56 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the third quarter, cutting the lead to 19-6.Any momentum St. Mary’s might have hoped to gain was quickly stunted when the Bishops returned the ensuing kick to the Spartans 49. Khnaizir then went back to torching the St. Mary’s defense as he carried on seven of the next nine plays, capping the drive with a one yard plunge that made it 27-6 with 4:57 to go in the third.The Spartans put together their longest drive of the game on the next series, reaching the Williams 31 as the fourth quarter began but they turned it over on downs. Khnaizir and the Bishops then turned out the lights on the Spartans with a six minute march that covered 69 yards and ended on an eight-yard Khnaizir sweep with 4:06 to go for the game’s final points.”We have to get back to practice and fix our mistakes because we still have to play the iron of the league,” Durgin said.