ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Bishop Fenwick’s Cody Mullen, left, leaps to catch a pass over Lynn’s English’s Daekwon Shepherd during the Agganis football game on Thursday.
By MIKE ALONGI
LYNN — It came down to the final play in the 55th Agganis All-Star football game Thursday, and an interception in the end zone by Lynn English’s Daekwon Shepherd with 17 seconds left sealed a 27-19 win for the South at Manning Field.
“What an exciting game,” said South coach Lou Cicatelli, who is the head coach at Revere. “I think it has to go down as one of the more exciting games in Agganis history, at least in the last 10 years for sure. We had a great group of guys, we came together really well and it was great to coach them all.”
Shepherd, who is headed to Merrimack this fall, finished with two interceptions and a fumble recovery and earned South MVP honors. Peabody running back Doug Santos, who is headed to Assumption, earned the North MVP with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown in addition to an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
“Dougie is a hard-working kid and he played great,” said North coach Mark Bettencourt, who coached Santos at Peabody. “I thought their game plan to shut him down was pretty successful, but as you saw all night long, he wasn’t going to be denied the end zone. He showed it on that kickoff as well as running the ball tonight.”
The two teams traded possessions throughout most of the first quarter, with neither getting a strong foothold. That was until the South took over at its own 36-yard line with about 3:45 left on the clock. After Pingree’s Griffin Beal (Union) got the drive started with a beautiful 25-yard pass to Waltham’s Joey Carroll (UNH), the South moved methodically up the field with a steady diet of run plays. After another Beal-to-Carroll connection set the South up at the 14-yard line, Beal lobbed a pass to the corner for Lynn Tech’s Justin Lewis, who is the state’s Division 3 high jump champion and recently competed at the New Balance Track and Field Nationals. Lewis leapt over his defender and snatched the ball out of the air for a touchdown to put the South on the board.
The North took over at its own 32 after the ensuing kickoff, but it didn’t hold on to the ball for long. On the first play, Santos took a handoff around the right side for a big 23-yard run before he was stripped of the ball and it was recovered by Shepherd.
Although it was a quick three-and-out for the South after the fumble recovery, Shepherd would not be denied.
With about five and a half minutes left in the half, North quarterback Kendrick Denose of Methuen (Western New England) dropped back on third and 13 and fired a pass over the middle. Out of nowhere, Shepherd swooped in and jumped the route for an interception and took it 25 yards to the house. After the extra point, the South was up 14-0.
Needing a boost, Santos delivered for the North on the ensuing kickoff. After fielding the ball at his own 11, Santos raced up the field and weaved through several defenders for an 89-yard touchdown to keep the North in the game.
But the South didn’t let the momentum get too far away before halftime after getting the ball with a little over five minutes remaining. It went on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was highlighted by a 32-yard pass from Beal to Lewis and capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Beal.
After the South started the second half with a three-and-out and a fumble, the North suddenly found some life. Thanks in part to North quarterback CJ Cooper of Hamilton-Wenham (Curry) connecting on two long passes, the North was able to get into South territory and score on a one-yard run by Santos. After going for two points and failing, the score stood at 21-12 in favor of the South.
On the very next play, the South fumbled the kickoff and the North recovered on the South 33-yard line. The North proceeded to drive 33 yards for another touchdown, this time on a one-yard run by Denose, to make it 21-19.
The North got an interception from Greater Lowell’s Elijah Bryant (Worcester State) on the next drive, but failed to capitalize. The South responded with a quick 23-yard drive that was capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass from Beal to Lewis to stretch the lead to 27-19 with 2:30 remaining.
The North got one final drive to tie the game, and it came close. Denose almost single handedly led the North down to the 10-yard line and had four shots to score with 41 seconds left. After three straight incompletions, he lofted a ball into the corner on fourth-and-goal that was intercepted by Shepherd, effectively sealing the game and his MVP.
“We made some great plays on defense today, some great defensive stands,” said Cicatelli. “Daekwon is a great player and he showed it all tonight with all the big plays he made. And he wasn’t the only one. It was definitely a true team win.”
