Coaches wax nostalgic on Classical-English game

LYNN ? The coaches of the four Lynn schools stand as if they?re guarding the students, cheerleaders and band members who attended Tuesday?s captains? luncheon at The Porthole Restaurant.In the back are St. Mary?s Matt Durgin and Tim Phelps. In the front, on one side, is English?s Peter Holey and tucked into the right side, toward the front, is Tech?s James Runner.Outside of the fact they?ll all be coaching at Manning Field tonight and Thursday, the four have something else in common: At one time or another, they all played in the Classical-English football game ? with varying success.?My memories aren?t as good,” says Holey, who went onto star for Boston College and play in the Cotton Bowl. “Classical always beat us.”That might be because back when Holey played, Classical had back-to-back Super Bowl teams, and its 1979 Rams squad ? in Holey?s junior year ? may have been among the best the state has seen. It included consensus All-America Tony Thurman, future BC basketball star Stu Primus, twins Tim and Tom Dempsey, and Sandy McGee. Holey?s Bulldogs took a 49-6 drubbing in that game.?I?ll tell you how good they were,” said Holey. “My senior year, we were pretty good. And we were ahead of them in the fourth quarter when Primus scored late to win it (26-21). But he was the starting quarterback, with Tony Hill behind him. The year before, they had Thurman at quarterback and Primus and Hill behind him.”Runner?s memories are pretty vivid. In his sophomore season, English had waxed the Rams on Thanksgiving, 49-0, with Alphonzo Prater scoring five touchdowns. Dave Dempsey, the Classical coach at the time, never let his team forget, the following season.?All week, prior to the game, he had us put stickers with the number ?49? on our helmets. We got the message,” Runner said.?Me, Keone Coleman and Barry Gibson were on that team, and we went out and got them back (the score was 44-0). That?s my best memory.”For Durgin, the memories of playing the game aren?t as vivid as the fact his entire life practically revolved around it.?My father (Hal) played,” Durgin said. “And when I was a kid, I got to be the water boy for Classical. For all that, just to have played in the game ? that was such a thrill.”He does remember his junior season, though, when a ninth-grader named Tim Frager electrified the city by running for more than 200 yards in a 24-7 win over English. Back then, ninth-graders were still in junior high.?Nobody could catch him,” Durgin said.Said Phelps, “the older I get, the more amazed I am that I run across so many peoplel who played in this game.?You get to talking, and they?ll say ?I remember this game ? or that game ???This is the biggest thing in the city,” he said. “We all get on the bus and go past Little River Inn (on Boston Street) so they can all come out and wave ? everybody?s up for it.”uAgain, this year, three of the city?s credit unions sponsored the event. In attendance were David Surface of St. Jean?s, Adam Sherman of Brotherhood, and Maria Cacciola of River Works.?More than ever,” said Jim Harris of the Rotary Club, who served as the emcee, “we need these sponsors to help us, and we thank them.”The city?s service organizations (the Rotary and the Lions clubs) organize the event.uIt wasn?t just football players attending. Cheerleader captains also were invited, as were band captains.From Classical: football captains Devin Crayton and Johnson Builou; cheerleader coach Michelle Montoya; and cheerleaders Shania Moore and Melissa Adolphe.From St. Mary?s: football captains Connor Sakowich, Brent Lozzi, Luc Zikianda, John Gaeta, Jack Leonard and Alex Maghsoudi; cheerleader coach Amy Graciale; and cheerleaders Delanie Driscoll, Rachel Dindinger and Sarah Knowles.From English: football captains Lucas Harris, Anthony de la Cruz and Victor Morales; cheerleader coach Chris Galvez, and cheerleaders Alison Efstiatios, Rose Bennett, Liz Collette and Isaac Morales.From Tech: football seniors John Appariccio, Joe D?amaco, Omar Harr