BOXFORD— There aren’t many times that scoring one touchdown will win a game, but the Chieftains did just that on an ice-cold Friday night as they clawed and scratched their way to a 7-0 victory over the Big Blue at Masconomet Regional High School.
The final score did not represent how dominant Masconomet was on both sides of the field. The Chieftains clearly had a gameplan coming in to control time of possession, and they executed it to near perfection as the team rushed for 155 yards on 31 carries. Masconomet’s defense was smothering and held Big Blue to under 150 yards of total offense. Swampscott quarterback Zack Ryan was under duress all night as the Chieftains sacked him three times and forced two interceptions. Masconomet also forced two fumbles and recovered one.
It was a battle for field position all night long, and Masconomet won that battle for the most part. The Chieftains forced a three and out by Swampscott to begin the game. After the punt, Masconomet’s offense went on a drive that lasted over 10 minutes. The drive looked like it had ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Sam Nadworney, but the play was called back on a penalty. Swampscott’s defense came up big after that, forcing a turnover on downs with 1:48 to play in the first quarter. After a promising start to the drive on a 15-yard run, Swampscott was forced to punt again.
Masconomet chewed up more clock on its ensuing offensive drive, but this time, Chieftains’ running back Owen Barrett was able to punch it in for the game’s only score with 6:27 left before halftime. The extra point made it 7-0.
Masconomet dominated Swampscott in the first half and the offense converted six first downs to the Big Blue’s one. With roughly four minutes to play, however, Swampscott got a huge break after punting for the third straight possession. Masconomet fumbled just two plays into its drive and the Big Blue were able to fall on it which gave the team some much needed energy.
That energy was quickly zapped from them, however, as Ryan was sacked on back-to-back plays that brought up a 4th and 28 – the Big Blue were forced to punt yet again. Masconomet tried a few shots downfield before time expired in the first half, but it remained a 7-0 going into halftime, and for the rest of the game.
As much as the Chieftains dominated possession in the first half, Masconomet seemed insistent on letting the Big Blue hang around. Just two plays into the third quarter, Chieftains’ quarterback Matt Richardson threw a pick that set Swampscott up with great field position on Masconomet’s 43-yard line. A few rushes of nine and 13 yards, along with a 10-yard catch by wide receiver Elijah Burns got Swampscott all the way inside the redzone at the 18-yard line. Ryan and the offense sputtered out after three straight incompletions, however, turning the ball over on downs.
With 1:39 to play in the third, Swampscott again had an opportunity to tie the game after a short Masconomet punt. Yet, finding the endzone just didn’t seem to be in the cards for the Big Blue as Burns was stripped after catching a pass from Ryan, and the ball was given right back to the Chieftains.
As the third quarter winded down and the fourth began, it was anybody’s game and neither team could manufacture any offense. There were four straight punts by both Masconomet and Swampscott to start the fourth. While it was frustrating for the Big Blue, the Chieftains were content as their defense had proved all night that they could keep Big Blue in check.
Swampscott was given yet another chance at redemption late in the fourth after the defense had forced Masconomet to fumble for the second time. However, with the offense not producing all night, Ryan tried to force the ball downfield, and it was picked off.
That interception looked to seal it for Masconomet, but it was only fitting that Swampscott’s defense forced another punt to give Ryan one last shot with 1:03 to go from his own 15-yard line.
Ultimately, as they had been doing all night, the Chieftains got to Ryan for a sack on second down, and Masconomet secured victory on the very next play with its second interception.
It was a tough end to the regular season for a Swampscott team that saw multiple opportunities to tie the game, but the Big Blue were shut out by a swarming Chieftains defense.
Swampscott currently sits right at the cusp of playoff contention with a number 15 spot in the MIAA Division Five power rankings. A win against Masconomet would have almost surely secured the team a ticket to the playoffs, but now with a record of 3-5, Big Blue will have to hope they did enough this season to earn a spot in the state tournament.
