LYNN — Behind the powerful 3-headed offensive attack of Calvin Johnson, James Brumfield and Marlon Scott, the St. Mary’s football team took down Catholic Central League foe Arlington Catholic, 52-14, under the lights at Manning Field Saturday.
The trio combined for a mind-boggling 387 rushing yards and seven touchdowns as the Spartans joined the parade of the undefeateds in Lynn. St. Mary’s, Classical, English and Tech are all 5-0.
“We’re definitely fortunate to have those three very talented guys back there running, and they showed off their skills tonight,” said St. Mary’s coach Matt Durgin. “We also got some great blocking from our fullbacks George (Freeman) and Nino (Echevarria) and from our line, so it was a full team effort on the offensive side tonight.”
The entire first quarter belonged to Johnson and the Spartans. After getting the ball near midfield to open the game, Brumfield (9 rushes, 187 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Scott (4-for-59 yards, TD) got in one run each before Johnson (7-for-141 yards, 4 TDs) took the third play from scrimmage 36 yards for a touchdown. St. Mary’s then forced a three-and-out on defense to get the ball back, gave one handoff to Brumfield, and then Johnson took the next play 43 yards for another touchdown. The next time St. Mary’s got the ball, Johnson scored on a 47-yard run to make it 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Brumfield and Scott really started getting into the action in the second quarter. Brumfield started off the quarter with a 51-yard touchdown run, then Scott scored on a 36-yard run on the next Spartans drive. Arlington Catholic did get a score sandwiched between those two drives, with Josh Smith scoring on a 14-yard run.
But after Johnson punched in a 2-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half, St. Mary’s had the game well in hand at 44-6.
The Spartans scored once more in the second half on a 71-yard run by Brumfield, while Arlington Catholic got a touchdown on a 4-yard run from quarterback Michael Burke.
One of the brightest spots for St. Mary’s — aside from the powerful rushing attack — was the defense. The Spartans only gave up 211 yards and forced three three-and-outs in the game.
“The defensive unit did a great job tonight, especially going up against a quality quarterback,” Durgin said. “They moved the ball at times during the game, but when we needed a stop our defense always came up with one. That’s all you can ask for.”
Things won’t get any easier for the Spartans (5-0) moving forward as they push for a potential undefeated regular season. With thee CCL games on the horizon (Archbishop Williams, Austin Prep, Bishop Fenwick), St. Mary’s will need to be at its best the rest of the way. That is especially true for next week’s game on the road against the 3-2 Bishops.
“We’re going to have to be at our best going into next week,” said Durgin. “We’ll have to be on a whole other level, because I think Williams is up there with any other team in the league. They’re excellent, so we’ll have to be ready.”
St. Mary’s and Archbishop Williams will kick off at 6 p.m. next Friday at Memorial Field in Braintree.
