CONCORD — A year ago the Swampscott football team played its worst game in the Division 5 state semifinal.
This time, the Big Blue are on to Gillette Stadium.
Quarterback Graham Inzana tossed three touchdown passes and Swampscott’s defense clung to its lead for a 20-12 win over Holliston in Friday’s state semifinal at Memorial Field.
“These guys wanted it bad,” Swampscott coach Bobby Serino said. “They wanted it bad. They watched the Scituate game (45-14 loss in last year’s state semifinal). The bottom line is they looked like young children last year playing in that Scituate game. Now they’re grown men.”
Serino was an assistant under former Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski in 2007, when the Big Blue last reached, and won, a state championship.
“In 2007 I said ‘thank you’ to Coach Dembowski on the last snap of the game,” Serino said. “In 2007 I thought it was easy. It was my first year in high school football. It sure isn’t easy. You need luck, you need ball bounces, you need a great group of guys, you need great parents and you need a great (coaching) staff. I have the best staff in New England.”
Inzana, who finished 8-of-19 for 85 passing yards, also helped move the chains with his feet. He found openings in the run game for scampers of 43 and 22 yards in the second half, and tallied 89 rushing yards.
“We weren’t going to run Graham all year because we weren’t going to run him into the ground,” Serino said. “We knew he was one of our best runners and they’ll know that come Super Bowl time.”
Early jitters were the theme in a scoreless first quarter, with neither team gaining much momentum offensively. That changed in the second quarter, when Swampscott cashed in on a short field. After Big Blue punter Cam O’Brien pinned Holliston at its own 1-yard line, Swampscott’s defense forced a short punt to the Wildcats’ 33. Inzana sealed an 8-play drive with a 16-yard touchdown strike to fellow senior Zack Palmer. Thomas Frisoli tacked on the extra point, giving Swampscott a 7-0 lead with 7:23 until halftime.
The Big Blue repeated that formula at the close of the half. A blocked Holliston punt with 2:40 remaining gave Swampscott the ball at the Wildcats’ 40. This time, Inzana connected with sophomore Xaviah Bascon for a 19-yard score (PAT blocked). Swampscott carried a 13-0 lead at halftime.
Defense led to offense for the Big Blue in the third quarter. After Holliston’s Connor Mulvaney intercepted an Inanza pass at his own 28, Frisoli pounced on a Wildcats fumble at the 9-yard line. Arturo Vasquez hauled in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Inzana, bumping the lead to 20-0 (Frisoli PAT) with 8:42 to go in the quarter.
Not so fast, said the Wildcats. Tristan Benson’s 12-yard scamper closed the gap to 21-6 (PAT failed), in the third quarter.
With 11:22 to play, Wildcats quarterback Matt Arvanitis found a wide-open Mitchell Gimblett for a 36-yard touchdown pass (conversion failed).
That’s when Swampscott’s defense buckled down to seal the deal. Holliston turned the ball over on downs with 3:25 remaining but forced a Swampscott punt in the closing seconds. Captain Nick Reiser recovered a Holliston fumble after a series of laterals as time expired to finish the 20-12 win.
“We just had to get after them and keep the pressure on them,” Serino said. “We told our guys not to jump up and try and block passes.
“(Defensive coordinator) Peter Bush is the best, without question. He’s one of the best coaches in the state.”
The Big Blue will play the winner between Northbridge/Amherst at Gillette Stadium (TBA).
