FOXBOROUGH — The Big Blue are state champions.
In a dominant performance, Swampscott rolled past Amherst for a 21-0 win in Saturday’s Division 5 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.
“We never forget who built this house,” Swampscott coach Bobby Serino said. “All the alumni that called me during the week, they built this house. We play for the name on our chest. That’s the bottom line.”
Defensively, the Big Blue were on their A-game from start to finish. Amherst tallied just 47 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 53. The Hurricanes went 1-of-12 on third-down conversion attempts.
“Shutout,” Serino said. “(Defensive coordinator Peter Bush) said to me, ‘I know we argue but we argue for a reason — the last goal, to play the last game of the season.’ And it was one long season.
“I’ve said it 20,000 times, I have the best coaching staff in the state. I push them to the absolute breaking point and they push their guys to the absolute breaking point. That’s why we’re here. The kids responded.”
Quarterback Graham Inzana (8-of-19, 102 yards) engineered the offense with a 4-yard touchdown run and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Augustin (five catches, 52 yards). Dylan January (15 carries, 78 yards) closed the scoring on a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter.
Cam O’Brien and Thomas Frisoli led the special teams units. O’Brien pinned the Hurricanes inside their own 10 on two of his punts, while Frisoli went 3-for-3 on PAT kicks.
The first half was all Swampscott. Amherst gave the Big Blue a short field with an onside kick to get things started. They made the most of it, needing just 1:45 to grab a 7-0 lead. January rushed for 45 yards on the first play from scrimmage, bringing his Big Blue to Amherst’s 5-yard line. A pair of penalties set Swampscott back to the Hurricanes’ 22. Augustin covered that ground on a 22-yard touchdown toss from Inzana.
That’s how it stayed until Swampscott cashed in on another short field with 4:02 left in the half. A short Hurricanes punt gave the Big Blue possession at Amherst’s 9. Inzana quickly found the end zone on a 4-yard keeper, bumping Swampscott’s lead to 14-0.
Meanwhile, the Big Blue defense refused to allow Amherst to gain any rhythm.
Swampscott’s front seven wreaked havoc in the trenches, making it a long half for Hurricanes quarterback JB Mills with a series of blitz packages. Mills guided Amherst to Swampscott’s 41 with the half winding down, but Arturo Vasquez knocked down a deep 4th-and-long heave toward the end zone. Swampscott’s 14-0 lead stood firm at halftime.
“We went after the quarterback,” Serino, an assistant coach when Swampscott last won a state championship in 2007, said. “That’s Coach Bush’s job. Coach Bush is the best defensive coach around here. He’s one of the best coaches. He’s going to make an unbelievable head coach.
“The one thing I do is allow my (assistant) coaches to coach. I’m probably not better than any one of them at their positions. That’s why they’re in their spots. They do a great job.”
When it seemed like the Hurricanes were finally gaining steam, Zack Palmer’s interception with 4:04 left in the third quarter kept Amherst scoreless.
Swampscott put it out of reach in the fourth quarter. A 38-yard shovel pass from Inzana to Palmer brought the Big Blue to Amherst’s 2. January’s 1-yard plunge seconds later cushioned the lead to 21-0.
Swampscott’s defense sealed its third shutout of the season, its running game burned the remainder of the clock and the Big Blue stormed the field in a frenzy as time expired.
Swampscott wraps the season at 10-3.
The Big Blue graduate 11 seniors.
“I love my seniors,” Serino said. “If they can deal with me from 7-on-7s in July and the preseason in mid-August, they’re a pretty special group.”
