LYNN – St. Mary’s and Bishop Feehan battled back-and-forth in a defensive affair, but it was the Spartans’ special teams that got them the 12-10 win Friday evening at Manning Field.
The game started off with both teams showing what they were made of defensively. In the Spartans’ first drive of the game, David Brown Jr. carried the ball twice for a total of four yards. On third down in the Spartans’ first pass of the game, Brown Jr. eluded some defenders but was sacked, forcing a punt.
For Feehan, its first drive was similar to St. Mary’s due to the fact it went nowhere. Brett McCaffery rushed for seven yards on the drive, and Dante Bruschi was stuffed on third down to bring up fourth and three. In an attempt to get the Spartans to jump offside, Feehan lined up to snap the ball but jumped themselves and ended up punting.
As the first quarter progressed, each team once again traded unfruitful possessions, and neither team could get on the scoreboard. Just before the end of the quarter, the Spartans had a chance to recover a muffed punt. However, St. Mary’s could not take advantage of what would have been great field position.
After Feehan took over, the stout Spartans defense once again made the Shamrock’s punt, and this time the special teams capitalized. St. Mary’s blocked Feehan’s punt and took over at the Shamrock’s 16-yard line threatening to score.
A Spartans facemask penalty pushed the team back, and after a short run, they faced second and 21 from the Shamrocks’ 27. On second and long, Brown Jr. dropped back to pass, rolled to his right, and threw a missile to Jack Marks in the right corner of the endzone that he bobbled and eventually came down with to give his team a 6-0 lead.
Unfortunately for St. Mary’s, Michael Anderson missed the extra point, and the score remained 6-0 after the try.
Down by six points, the Shamrocks’ offense finally got itself going on a nice bubble screen from quarterback Niko Iovieno to Connor Michale. With first and goal from the Spartans’ five-yard line, it seemed like it was all but certain Feehan would score. However, St. Mary’s Joel Maggs and Tommy Falasca made some huge stops forcing the Shamrocks to settle for a field goal.
Once again, St. Mary’s special teams came up huge and blocked another kick to preserve the 6-0 lead and take all of the momentum. Feehan clinging on for dear life, caught a break when the Spartans fumbled and turned the ball over.
St. Mary’s fumble seemed to be the beginning of the end for the team as the Shamrocks went on to score on what was basically a hail mary on fourth and long from the Spartans’ 26-yard line.
Michale’s touchdown grab and the subsequent extra point gave Feehan a 7-6 lead. The Spartans’ continued to slide with under a minute under left in the half. With seconds remaining, Brown Jr. was intercepted by Michale, and he returned it to St. Mary’s 30-yard line.
Following the interception, the scoreboard clock read zeros, which seemed to signal the end of the half, and the Spartans headed to the locker room. However, the officials determined there was actually one second left, giving the Shamrocks a chance at a field goal, and they hit it to make the game 10-6 Shamrocks at the half.
To open the second half, both teams traded three and outs. When Feehan got the ball back, they marched down the field on the backs of David Quinn and Bruschi to take over eight minutes of the third quarter.
The Shamrocks’ drive stalled, and they had to settle for a field goal, but this time kicker McCaffery missed. St. Mary’s could not get anything rolling on offense and punted again at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Spartans’ defense came up huge again, and eventually, it was the special teams that propelled them to victory. After forcing the Shamrocks to punt, Brown Jr. fielded a punt from his own 30-yard line, ran right, then reversed field to take it all the way for a touchdown and give his team a 12-10 lead.
Eventually, with only about a minute remaining in the game, the Spartans thwarted Feehan’s last-ditch opportunity and sealed the 12-10 victory.
