Last season, Lynn Classical football defeated Medford in blowout fashion, 32-0. This year, history repeated itself. Classical (3-1) took down Medford (0-4) on Friday evening in Lynn by a score of 30-6. Freshman Tyren Hoeun led the charge with a historic 278 rushing yards, while senior Yoel Sosa racked up 4.5 sacks.
Medford started the game in rough fashion, kicking the ball out of play — giving Classical strong field position. The result would be an early touchdown for the Green and Yellow, with Hoeun running practically untouched to the promised land. He had 40 yards on the ground during the opening drive.
The reliance on the ground game continued throughout the quarter, with John Nasky recording 24 yards of his own on just three touches.
Classical’s Yoel Sosa was a difference maker in the first half on the defensive end. He racked up two sacks that halted two important drives for Medford. In total, the senior collected 4.5 sacks on Friday.
Despite his physical talents on the turf, Sosa’s veteran experience showed as well — constantly high-fiving and helmet-tapping his teammates.
The home team would drive down the field again with Hoeun and Nasky still leading the charge with their legs. Their redzone strategy didn’t go as planned, however, and the team decided to go for it on fourth down. The good news, it was a completion. The bad news, it was one yard short of the target.
This resulted in Medford’s drive beginning at their own 1-yard line. After eluding a few Classical safety attempts, they were forced to punt nonetheless.
Classical’s Peter Jean played the biggest part of that stoppage, collecting a sack of his own to join Sosa in the category.
Later on in the half, Hoeun brought the crowd alive with a 52-yard run down the left side of the field — trucks and broken tackles included. The freshman tallied 147 yards in the first half.
The Rams would get yet another chance at points before halftime, but Medford ended the half in emphatic fashion with Serge Edwards getting a sack to expire the time clock.
The score read 8-0 as the teams headed into the locker rooms. Penalties were the biggest reason Classical failed to extend the lead despite their vast advantage in possession time.
Medford’s attempt to tilt the momentum was off to a great start with Woody Travers taking the kickoff inside the Classical 40-yard line. However, things tilted back when Sosa grabbed his third sack — the ball being recovered by teammate Muhammed Makalo.
With Classical getting the ball back, things ran smoothly — literally and figuratively — with senior Nick Costa barreling his way down the left sideline for an 18-yard pickup.
Plays later, Hoeun submitted his second touchdown of the game to the box score — quite literally walking his way in from four yards out. A failed attempt at two points later, the score showed 14-0.
After another stellar kick return from Medford, there was a chance to cut the deficit. But on a 4th down attempt that was a yard away from a first down, the only picture was a sea of green and yellow — resulting in a turnover on downs.
Medford received a lucky break however — courtesy of some #8 on #8 crime. Classical’s Costa fumbled the ball after positive yardage, and Medford’s Anthony Difronzo scooped up the mess.
After a failed fourth down attempt from Medford, Hoeun picked up where he left off. He would enter the endzone with ease from just a yard away — extending the lead for Classical.
In a desperate attempt to make things more interesting, Medford did just that with Justin Marino hauling in a pass, then racing down the left side of the field for a 63-yard gain.
Right after, Jack Lombardo tossed the ball to Stevens Exateur on a screen pass. Exateur ran through traffic and fell past the goal line, putting Medford on the board. The 2-point conversion would fail, however.
In the fourth, Hoeun found the endzone again from short distance. The score was 30-6 in favor of Classical with 8:02 remaining.
The home team kept things on the ground to conclude the game and expire the clock.
The final score read 30-6 — capping off Hoeun’s historic showing. Despite the individual feat of recording nearly 300 rushing yards, his response was anything but.
“All I saw were holes. Our blocking game — they did really great. I appreciate my linemen. They’re very talented,” Hoeun said.
Classical travels to Malden next Friday, Oct. 7 at 6:00 p.m., where Hoeun aims to keep his legs running.
