PEABODY — St. Mary’s football coach Matt Durgin couldn’t be prouder of the season his Spartans put together this past fall. After losing a handful of talented seniors in key positions from the 2016 team, St. Mary’s managed to fill in those vacancies and storm its way to an impressive 11-1 season.
Thursday evening at Spinelli’s, the Spartans sat back and relaxed as they celebrated their season at their annual team banquet.
“This group did a lot,” Durgin said. “They did a lot of nice things and played a lot of good football.
“We spent a lot of time together and football’s unique in that way,” Durgin added. “We went to double sessions together, we were together six days a week watching film. It’s the toughest sport too. You practice all these hours and play one game a week for 44 minutes. These kids do a lot of hard work.”
The campaign kicked off with a 54-21 win over Saugus in the Spartans’ season opener, which got St. Mary’s rolling on the right foot. From there, St. Mary’s ran off a six-game winning streak, marching to the Division 7 North state tournament undefeated at 7-0.
Back-to-back shutout victories over Manchester Essex and Greater Lawrence earned the Spartans a bid in the Division 3 North final, where they cruised past Brighton with a 42-6 victory over the Bengals.
The tournament run came to a tough end for the Spartans in the Division 7 state semifinals, when they lost, 28-20, to Mashpee. However, St. Mary’s ended its season on a high note with a 28-21 win over Thanksgiving rival Bishop Fenwick at Manning Field. The Spartans were stymied by injuries but did just enough to fend off the upset-minded Crusaders for the victory in a comeback effort that saw quarterback Calvin Johnson score the game-winning touchdown.
Despite falling one game short of a repeat trip to Gillette Stadium for a state championship game, Durgin and his Spartans look back on their season with smiles and positive memories.
“It was outstanding what we did this year,” Durgin said. “Mashpee’s an outstanding football team. We were right there with them, a bounce here or there but you look back on the four years our seniors were here and how successful they were. We’re fortunate. We have talented kids that play hard every game. We’re very fortunate to have won more games than we’ve lost here.”
Award winners for the Spartans were Calvin Johnson, Spartan Award, Patrick Henry, Top Defensive Player, James Brumfield, Top Offensive Player, Kyle Bernardini, Arthur McManus Leadership Award, Nino Echevarria and Jack Maguire, Unsung Heroes, Marlon Scott, Father John Dillon Day Commitment Award, Duy Tran and Thomas Afflitto, Most Dedicated, DJ DiCenso, Iron Man Award, Bobby Reynolds, John Miller Coaches Award, Mathias Haley and George Freeman, Rookies of the Year, Josh Mateo and Aaron Burris, Special Teams Award, Connor Donahue, 12th Player Award, Zachary Cummings, Team Spirit Award, Matt Tansey and Israel Figueroa, Scout Team Award.
Freshman team award winners were Sal Afflito, Top Offensive Player, Mark Tobin, Top Defensive Player, Tyler Furlong, Top Lineman and Dennis Davison, Coaches Award.
Junior varsity award winners were Mark Niboh, Top Offensive Player, Derek O’Leary, Top Defensive Player, Terrance Valentine, Top Lineman and Alec Colacitti, Coaches Award.
St. Mary’s also honored its Catholic Central League All-Stars at Thursday’s banquet.
