With the Ram defense hounding the Bulldogs from start to finish on a sunny Thanksgiving morning at Manning Field, two offensive touchdowns and another on defense lifted Classical to its sixth win of the season, shutting out English on Turkey Day.
The man of the hour was Classical’s junior quarterback Brian Vaughan. The last time he stepped foot on a football field was last Thanksgiving when he injured his knee. Two surgeries and a tremendous recovery later, Vaughan threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns in his return.
“Once I woke up, I just knew I was ready to go,” Vaughan said.
His father, and Classical Head Coach Brian Vaughan said he couldn’t be prouder of his son’s story.
“Credit to him. He didn’t listen to anybody, and it wasn’t easy. It was tough,” Coach Vaughan said.
After a scoreless first quarter where the longest play from scrimmage was a 5-yard endaround from Classical’s John Nasky, the Rams struck first in the second quarter. On fourth and goal, Vaughan threw a perfect fade pass up and over the defense to RJ Faessler in the back of the endzone. The Rams took a 6-0 lead with 3:54 remaining in the half.
“We thought we needed to score there because we knew the last four games – we’ve been struggling offensively,” Coach Vaughan said. “Once we get in the redzone, our mindset has to be to score.”
On the Rams’ second touchdown, they didn’t need to be in the endzone. Vaughan threw a pass to Nasky who escaped the secondary and broke free for a 79-yard touchdown to silence the English side of the bleachers. After the touchdown with 1:40 remaining in the second, Classical held a 12-0 lead into the break.
The third quarter was relatively quiet from both sides. A highlight did come from Classical’s Nestor Rodriquez, however, who exploded past the line to block a punt in the final minutes of the quarter. The Rams blocked two punts in total.
“We don’t call it special teams, we call it special forces,” Coach Vaughan said.
Leaning on its run-game, English struggled to gain any momentum offensively.
“Offense wasn’t able to bring anything, but I’m proud of the way our guys battled,” English’s first-year Head Coach Anthony LaFratta said. “We told them they’re going to get theirs [big plays] and we just had to get ours, and we couldn’t do it.”
English’s Edwin Castro put in a great performance, knocking down two deep passes in the first half and grabbing an interception in the endzone to provide hope in the fourth quarter.
The momentum was short-lived, however. Classical’s Yoel Sosa pounced on a fumble in the endzone to give the Rams a commanding 18-0 lead.
“I thought our defense played lights out. I’m going to be honest with you, our defense has been carrying us all year,” Coach Vaughan said.
English couldn’t move the ball downfield, and the clock ran out on the Bulldogs. In the 109th meeting between Classical and English, this one belonged to the Rams.
Classical finishes the season at 6-4, and despite English coming up short, the Bulldogs had five strong wins this season and LaFratta said he was happy to be a part of the Thanksgiving experience.
“This is one of the best rivalries in the state of Massachusetts,” LaFratta said.
