FOXBOROUGH — The Swampscott Big Blue are Division 5 Super Bowl champions again.
After getting off to a slow start on the offensive side, Swampscott’s defense led the way as the No. 2 Big Blue took down No. 1 North Reading by a score of 14-7 under the lights at Gillette Stadium Wednesday night.
“We knew that this team (North Reading) was going to be very good,” said Swampscott junior Jason Codispoti. “We knew that going in and (defensive coordinator) Coach (Peter) Bush put in a great plan, (and) we had a great week of practice.”
Running back Xaviah Bascon was kept off the scoreboard but remained effective in the win, totaling 170 yards from scrimmage and also throwing a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cole Hamernick. Quarterback Cam O’Brien completed 11-of-19 passes for 113 yards and also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown.
But it was the defense that really won the game for the Big Blue, as it came up with two key interceptions and a fumble recovery to help keep North Reading at bay.
“From day one, these guys accepted the challenge of trying to shut down the other team’s offenses,” said Swampscott defensive coordinator Peter Bush. “They’ve done it all year. It’s nothing new to us.”
It was a slow start to the game, as the Big Blue didn’t notch their first first down until there were less than two minutes to go in the first quarter. Swampscott also struggled with turnovers in the first, with O’Brien throwing an interception on one drive and losing a fumble on another.
But despite that, a number of key plays by the Big Blue defense kept North Reading off the board and, in turn, kept Swampscott right in the thick of things.
The first quarter ended in a scoreless tie, and much of the second quarter went by without much action on either side.
But then, with about five minutes to go in the half, Swampscott finally got it going on offense. Bason busted a 21-yard run and then caught a screen pass for another 15 yards, moving the Big Blue into the red zone. A few plays after that, O’Brien took a quarterback keeper, got behind a convoy of blockers and rumbled for a nine-yard touchdown to give Swampscott a 7-0 lead late in the half.
Codispoti’s second interception of the game gave the Big Blue a chance to score in the final two minutes of the half, but the drive stalled out at the 15-yard line and the score remained 7-0 at the break.
But Swampscott didn’t waste any time in the second half. After getting good field position on the opening kick, the Big Blue dialed up some trickery by calling a halfback pass. O’Brien pitched the ball over to Bascon, who reared back and fired a 38-yard touchdown pass to Hamernick to give the Big Blue a 14-0 lead.
“We’ve been practicing that since we played Danvers,”‘ said Bascon. “It was a huge play. The coaches got my arm right through the season when Cam (O’Brien) had to sit out a game and there was a question if I had to play QB that week so the arm’s been ready. They called the play and it was great execution.”
The Big Blue defense took over from there, and North Reading finally was able to get on the scoreboard when Alex Carucci rushed it in from one yard out to make it a 14-7 game with 1:42 remaining.
After receiving the ensuing kick, the Big Blue were able to grind out the final minute and a half to take home their second straight Agganis Trophy.
Swampscott finishes the season at 12-1.
