SOMERVILLE — After a 26-20 win over Beverly in its season opener, the Lynn English football team rolled into Friday night’s Week 2 clash at Somerville on a wave of confidence.
Those good feelings continued after English downed Somerville, 28-16, at Dilboy Stadium. Senior running back Ski Gaston led the Bulldogs with a pair of touchdown runs.
“We feel pretty good,” English coach Chris Carroll said. “These were two tough teams, Beverly and Somerville. Different styles. Somerville has a great coaching staff and great athletes.”
Things looked great for the Bulldogs (2-0) in the early stages as English scored two touchdowns in the first quarter. The first came on the game’s opening drive, thanks to a 17-yard touchdown run by Gaston, and the other on a 90-yard kickoff return by Prince Brown five minutes later. Devin Curley nailed both extra points and English led 14-3 after one quarter.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start,” Carroll said. “We were up 14-3 just a quarter into the game. We needed to maintain that but we stepped up in the second half when we needed to. That 14-3 start was very good.”
Somerville’s offense came alive in the second quarter, but seven points was all it could muster. Elijah Jeffreys scored on a two-yard quarterback keeper, and Emerson Klemz added the PAT to cut the deficit to 14-10. Klemz looked to add three more points on a 29-yard field goal attempt but the snap was fumbled and the half ended in a 14-10 English lead.
“We stalled them in that last drive and that muffed kick kept it at 14-10,” Carroll said. “It wasn’t really a momentum thing but as a coaching staff, and as a team, we weren’t very happy because we felt we didn’t play well in the first half. But we were resilient and we responded. I’m proud of the way we responded.”
A Jacob Miller sack on third-and-long ended Somerville’s opening drive in the third quarter. English took advantage on the ensuing drive, which was capped off by another Gaston touchdown run, this time from eight yards out. The Curley PAT upped English’s edge to 21-10, and that’s where it stayed after three quarters of play.
Fred Castin’s one-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter brought Somerville (1-1) within one possession at 21-16. With 2:30 remaining, Bulldogs quarterback Matt Severance iced the win with a three-yard touchdown run. Curley added the PAT and English rolled to the 28-16 win.
“It’s very refreshing to see us finishing games,” Carroll said. “I’m proud of my kids. Our offensive line led us in that final drive. We told the o-line to lead us to victory. Matt’s a great leader at quarterback and I couldn’t be prouder of my team.”
English now shifts gears to next Friday night’s matchup against North Reading at Manning Field.
“That’s another big game for us,” Carroll said. “We haven’t played North Reading traditionally but we’re going to learn about them real fast.”
The Highlanders, who beat Peabody in their season opener, will look to bounce back next Friday night at Gloucester.
