LYNN — Adults tote the party line. Kids tell you what’s really going on.
When asked last week whether the abrupt heartbreak of last year’s Thanksgiving loss to Classical motivated his team, English coach Chris Carroll maintained an even strain, saying that while it was certainly a factor, he just wanted the team to go out, have a good game, represent the school well, and win.
That’s exactly what English did Thursday, handing the Rams a 38-0 shellacking that was certainly not what anyone expected in a game featuring two of the North Shore’s best teams this fall.
But if you want an unfiltered answer, always ask the kids.
“That was the most heartbreaking game,” said quarterback Matt Severance. “That stayed with me all year.”
Severance, a junior, had just threaded the needle, throwing a bullet through the hands of at least two Classical defenders to Jonathan Kosmas for a touchdown pass with eight seconds to go last year, giving English the lead, and — as just about everyone thought, the game.
But Classical’s Marcus Rivera staged his mad dash to the end zone on the ensuing kickoff to give Classical the win.
“That was awful,” said Severance. “Between that and losing to Tewksbury last week, we just had to win this game today. Just had to. If would have been awful if we’d lost.”
Severance didn’t mind the fact that as the season evolved, English’s offense morphed into a power-running attack rather than the pass-oriented offense most people expected.
“That’s a testament to our offensive line,” said Severance, who still managed to throw two touchdown passes in Thursday’s win. “If things are working, why stop doing it?
“I don’t care about the passing. I’m more satisfied with the wins (English raised its record to 10-1).”
In a way, Classical coach Brian Vaughan said, the pressure taken off Severance to do it all on offense worked to the junior’s advantage on defense, as Severance was a real force at free safety.
“Are you kidding me?” Vaughan asked. “He’s a beast.”
Jacob Miller, a senior linebacker well aware he was playing his final high school football game, was just as focused on winning this game, and putting last year behind him.
Aside from last year’s fiasco (in their mind), the Bulldogs were still processing a 4-point loss to Tewksbury in the Division 3 North final two weeks ago that eliminated them from Super Bowl contention.
“Losing that game stung,” said Miller. “We had that to motivate us, plus losing to Classical last year.
“Winning this game takes the sting of losing to Tewksbury,” Miller said. “After what happened in last year’s game, there’s no better feeling than coming out here and winning and shutting them out.”
Emil Rossi had much to celebrate Thursday. The 6-3 offensive and defensive lineman was healthy this season, and became a bigger factor with each English game.
“I felt good all year, 100 percent,” said Rossi, who was plagued with a variety of injuries last season. “I just had a lot of recurring problems.”
For Rossi, losing to Tewksbury, while disappointing, didn’t shake him up too much.
“It was a good game, and someone had to win it, and someone had to lose. It didn’t shake me up too much.
“This feels good,” he said. “Heads up to the coaches for giving us such a good game plan and preparing us so well.”
