LYNN — Defense was the name of the game for the English powder puff team.
The Bulldogs never let the Rams build any momentum and got the job done with a 7-0 win over Classical at Manning Field Saturday.
First-year powder puff coach Anthony LaFratta praised his entire defense for putting together the shutout, including assistant coach Peter Pappagianopoulos.
“The defense was unbelievable,” LaFratta said. “You could mention the whole side of the ball. First it’s a shoutout to coach Pappagianopoulos, he came out and helped me and called the defense. He did a great job.
“Ravyn Rapley did a great job at middle linebacker for us. Yereline Taveras and Sophia Teixeira on the outside, our corners played great. The whole defense was great. When you pitch a shutout it takes a whole team.”
Hannah Trahant scored the Bulldogs’ lone touchdown on a 16-yard scamper in the second half. Quarterback Julianna Perry paced the English offense with 19 carries for 77 yards.
“We wanted to get the ball to those girls,” LaFratta said of Trahant and Perry. “We also had Mashayla Johnson. We had a lot of great athletes. But when the offensive line was blocking the way it was it worked. All those girls played a role because the offensive line and the receivers held their blocks. They all played great and it takes a team to win.”
The Rams, who lost for the first time in four years, struggled to get things going offensively. Slanny Pordilla (20 yards) had some nice carries and Jean Gupton led the defense.
“I will tell you right now the MVP of this game for us was definitely Jean Gupton,” Classical coach Rob Smith said. “As a defensive linebacker she absolutely played amazing.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted but that’s the game of football, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. Hats off to English. Anthony is a first-year coach, came in and had the girls ready. We had way more players than they did, but they outplayed us.”
Both teams traded defensive highlights in the first half. English’s Melissa Rodriguez capped things off with an interception on the last play of the half and both teams went into the break scoreless.
After a quick defensive stop, English put together the best drive of the afternoon in the third quarter. The Bulldogs faced a pair of fourth downs on their way down the field but each time Perry picked up enough yards to move the sticks on runs right up the middle.
“We noticed it was there,” LaFratta said of the plays. “I said to the girls when we were practicing that play, ‘this is going to be used in a short-yardage situation.’ We got in a lot of those. It ended up working out. I’m glad we practiced it. The offensive line did a great job getting us a push and Julianna did a great job finding the little seams.”
Trahant finally broke free on a sweep down the left sideline and showed off her speed on her 16-yard touchdown run. Brooke Zahine split the uprights on her extra-point to give English a 7-0 lead.
Classical had a few more chances the rest of the day but just couldn’t move the ball. On a fourth-and-10 quarterback Angie Galiotzakis connected with Erica Washington on the only completed pass of the day, but she was stopped short of the first down and the Bulldogs walked away with the win.
“We got outplayed,” Smith said. “My hats off to English. I always say to people, ‘we’re not enemies, we’re just rivals.’ And that’s what it came down to. The best team won today.”
