Two Lynn teams, two opportunities to advance to state championships. Each team began the season with varying levels of success, but both the Spartans and Panthers are now in their respective tournament semifinals.
The now No. 3 Spartans (Division 6) began the season in near-perfect fashion, defeating KIPP 41-0 and Winthrop 37-14. Other than a heartbreaking overtime loss at the hands of Bishop Fenwick, the rest of the season was a success. St. Mary’s finished 9-1 (5-1 in Catholic Central Conference), 5-1 at home, and a perfect 4-0 on the road.
This past Friday, the Spartans conquered the Lynnfield Pioneers in front of their hometown faithful at Manning Field. Derick Coulanges eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in the win and dominated the Pioneers from start to finish to help St. Mary’s snag the 20-6 victory.
That was at Manning Field, but now, things go neutral for the Spartans. St. Mary’s takes on Rockland on Friday at Walpole High School with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs of Rockland are 8-2 and have already won a neutral playoff game against Abington.
St. Mary’s already knows that the Bulldogs have won four straight games – so cooling off red-hot Rockland early on is a top priority. If Rockland scores the first two or three touchdowns, an early hole may be hard for St. Mary’s to climb out of.
Secondly, the Spartans’ run success has guided them all season – and if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Whether it’s David Brown or Coulanges behind a stellar offensive line, not many defenses have figured out how to stop the Spartan run-game.
Rockland played against an Abington team last week that didn’t show up offensively, scoring zero points in its elimination game. If Spartan runners can get past the defensive line and perhaps shake the secondary, it will be a test for Rockland to face an offense as explosive as St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s scored 40 or more points four times this season – two of them on the road.
Next for St. Mary’s is to ride its own offensive momentum. Even beyond the tournament where they’ve put up 37 and 20 points, the Spartans have scored 40 more points than Rockland this season.
The Spartans have Tyler Guy throwing the ball – someone capable of throwing beautiful passes in the pocket and on the run, yet can also beat opponents with his feet at any given time. He also likes to spread the ball around to many different receivers.
Between Brown, Coulanges, Guy, Nick Costa, and John Nasky, many could argue that the starpower factor may favor the Spartans. If St. Mary’s arrives without jitters and gets its offense moving early, those players are hard ones to slow down.
KIPP, on the other hand, began its season losing two straight, then three of its first four. But since then, the Panthers have lost just once and are currently winners of four straight to better their record to 6-4.
In Division 8 action on Friday, No. 7 KIPP takes on No. 3 Oxford at Ayer Shirley High School with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
Oxford has an explosive offense. The Pirates are 9-1 this season and have scored 333 points compared to KIPP’s 233. That said, the Panthers may try to slow the game down to limit how many possessions the Pirates get to work with. And for that gameplan to work, KIPP needs to wind some time off the clock, protect the ball, and be smart with its playcalling.
Another gameplan that’s worked pretty well for KIPP, and one they hope continues on Friday, is trusting Juan Setalsingh. The quarterback is as accurate as they come in his division. No matter if it’s a short, medium, or deep pass, Setalsingh will lead his pass-catchers in stride and set them up for success downfield.
Just because the lights are a little brighter, and the stakes a bit higher, that shouldn’t bother Setalsingh who’s as good of a dual-threat quarterback as there is in the area. This season’s statistics pages have been full of three, four, and five touchdown performances from Setalsingh, and despite the fact that Oxford has only allowed an average of 15 points per game, the Pirates will have to be on their A-game if they want to slow him down.
Embrace the momentum. Last week, KIPP took on No. 2 Lowell Catholic and won by more than one possession (21-12). In the world of North Shore high school football, anything can happen. That said, despite the fact that Oxford is ranked four spots higher than KIPP, the Panthers are in prime position to continue their momentum all the way to the state championship.
