LYNN — The Classical football team came out swinging early and often Friday night, notching a 55-15 win over Somerville in a Northeastern Conference matchup at Manning Field. It was a big win for the Rams to get back on track after three consecutive losses.
“We were fortunate that things went our way early, and we were able to ride that momentum all the way to the win,” said Classical coach Brian Vaughan. “But I just told the guys I’m proud of what they’ve done, because it’s not easy coming back after losing three straight. But everyone came to work every day, stood tall and battled through. The only thing that cures that losing feeling is getting a ‘W’.”
Classical quarterback Keith Ridley was the star of the night for the Rams, completing 17-of-23 pass attempts for 166 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Marcus Tucker had a big game on the ground with 109 rushing yards, also adding 29 yards and one touchdown through the air. Receiver Nashaun Butler was the main beneficiary of Ridley’s great game, hauling in 7 catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
While the Rams had a huge day on offense overall, they didn’t get off to the best of starts in this one. Granted, Classical found the end zone on its first drive when Ridley ran one in from eight yards out. But after kicking the ball off to Somerville, the Rams committed a facemask penalty that kept a drive alive for the Highlanders, who scored on the very next play (a 28-yard touchdown run by quarterback Louis Jacques Montina). On the ensuing possession the Rams lost a fumble, but they were able to keep Somerville from capitalizing.
“We talk about adversity every day now after going on that losing streak,” Vaughan said. “It’s just something you have to battle through. We were able to do that tonight and everything else happened from there.”
The Rams couldn’t be stopped from that point on. Ridley connected with Tucker on a 14-yard touchdown pass to take the lead near the end of the first quarter, then Ridley ran one in from 5 yards out midway through the second quarter. Classical then showed off its potent two-minute offense, as Ridley and Butler connected on touchdown passes of 5 yards and 8 yards within the final 2:39 of the first half. The Rams took a 40-8 lead into the half.
Somerville got the ball to open the second half and went in for a score, with Montina running in a 3-yard touchdown to make it 40-15. Classical responded immediately with a 34-yard touchdown run by Chase Buono on the ensuing drive, then backup quarterback Danny Gisonno capped off the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Now back at .500 on the year, Classical (3-3) is aiming to start a winning streak when it visits Salem (3-3) next Friday night.
“Salem’s a good team, and they do some things that could pose some problems for us,” said Vaughan. “Hopefully we can come out and eliminate the smaller mistakes we made tonight and continue to make plays out there.”
