The St. Mary’s football team scored 30 points in the first half but still had to hold on for a victory Friday night, taking down Catholic Central League rival Archbishop Williams 30-22 on the road in Braintree.
“We started off great and really came out strong,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll. “Our defense was outstanding in the first half and came up with some big plays. It was a great team effort on a nasty day.”
Sal Afflitto got the Spartans going in the first quarter with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but that was just the beginning. George Percy added back-to-back rushing touchdowns (six yards and 32 yards, respectively) to push the lead to 22-8 before the Spartans defense came up with a huge blocked punt to set up another scoring drive. Quarterback Derek O’Leary connected with Percy on a 33-yard touchdown pass to give St. Mary’s a 30-8 lead at halftime.
While Williams fought back in the second half to make it a one-score game, the Spartans came up with a late defensive stand to hold off their rival and take home the win.
“We were a little sluggish defensively in the second half and let them back in it, but that’s the sign of a young team at times,” Driscoll said. “We were able to get the big stop when we needed to.”
Up next for St. Mary’s (3-2) is a matinee home game against Arlington Catholic next Saturday (4).
“I’d love to build on the momentum from our play in the first half and just be in another position to close out a game, because that’s the only way the young players will learn how to do it,” Driscoll said. “We need to learn to be more consistent on both sides of the ball, but we keep getting better every day.”
FOOTBALL
BC High 24, Bishop Fenwick 7
Fenwick played solid defense for three quarters and only trailed by a touchdown going into the fourth, but BC High pulled away late after taking advantage of a fumble on a kick return.
The Crusaders committed three turnovers on the night, all of which resulted in points for BC High.
“The weather obviously made it tougher to hold onto the ball, and the turnovers really hurt us,” said Fenwick coach Dave Woods. “I thought our defense played a phenomenal game and really kept us in it, but we gave BC High too many chances.”
The lone touchdown for Fenwick was scored by Angel Martinez, who took back a kickoff 62 yards for a score in the second quarter. Danny Richard, Chrys Wilson, Andrew Wilson, Matt Juneau and Joe Rivers also played well.
Next up for Fenwick (5-1) is a road game against CCL foe Cardinal Spellman next Saturday afternoon (1).
“If we play the way we played (Friday), especially defensively, I don’t know if we’ll lose another game all season,” Woods said. “We’re really clicking on that side of the ball right now, so if we can limit our mistakes we can do some great things.”
Tech 36, Chelsea 0
The Tigers came off their bye week with a bang, notching their third shutout in five weeks.
Haidar Bdaiwi rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense for Tech, while Luis Pineiro also rushed for two touchdowns. Gabriel Perez added one rushing touchdown.
“It took us a little while to get the ball rolling coming off the bye, but once the guys got going we got right back to playing good solid football,” said Tech coach James Runner. “We played well on offense, but I’m really proud of how we played on defense.”
Tech (4-1) hosts Georgetown next Friday evening (6) at Manning Field.
“The idea for us to to just not get complacent,” said Runner. “Once you get complacent, that’s when you get beat. We’ll be right back in the weight room (Saturday) and we’ll start working on film prep after that. We’re on to next week.”
