LYNN — With just 12 spots separating No. 16 Lynn English and No. 28 Malden in the MIAA Division 3 power rankings, it took the Bulldogs until the fourth quarter to finally fend off the Golden Tornados in a 26-13 win.
English’s offense took care of business in the first half, but after a scoreless third quarter and more struggles in the fourth, it was time for the defense to make a play.
“With penalties, we put ourselves in holes on offense,” said first-year English coach Tyllor McDonald. “Overall, honestly, I thought we played really sloppy.”
After a three-and-out from the Bulldogs, Malden took over in the final two minutes in need of a touchdown (20-13).
Backed up at his own 3-yard line, Malden quarterback Aidan Brett looked right and let one fly, but the ball was intercepted by Zamari Omosefe to seal it.
“We had three interceptions tonight, which was great,” McDonald said. “The defense made some key stops.”
English’s Xavier Beauchamp plunged one in from 2 yards out to seal the deal in the final minute.
Despite the win, upping English’s record to 5-1 after a three-win showing last fall, McDonald wasn’t fully satisfied.
“Just stupid penalties and not getting our defense off the field,” he said. “Letting Malden drive downfield… just overall, it wasn’t a great day for us.”
Despite a few mishaps, English found success in its passing game. Quarterback Jaiden Rosario was 11-for-21 with 191 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
“I know they’re athletic and they’re big up front, so we knew coming into the game that they would be hard to run the ball against,” McDonald said.
The highlight of the first half was when Shane Knowlton-Simard (4 catches, 122 yards) won a jump ball down the right sideline before dragging his opponent with him for a 49-yard touchdown.
Beauchamp (13 carries, 24 yards, 2 TD) also scored a first-half touchdown alongside Ryan Oeun, who returned an interception 5-yards for a pick-six.
But Oeun’s return with 4:47 remaining in the second quarter was English’s last touchdown until the final minute of the fourth.
“The end result wasn’t great,” McDonald said.
Other English highlights included a 24-yard reception from Limbert Thomas (3 catches, 29 yards), two sacks apiece from Kayden Brazzo and Aaden Soto, a fourth-down pass breakup from Jason McDonald, and an interception from Jordan Em.
McDonald singled out Jordan Hernandez (3 tackles, 2 for losses), who’s been out for three weeks with a knee injury, for his defensive leadership.
“I thought I would have to sub him in and out, but he ended up playing the whole game,” McDonald said. “He just ran the whole defense at the end of the game.”
English visits Medford at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
“The message to the team is that we need to get better,” McDonald said. “We need to clean up the mistakes, the penalties, just practice hard, and get ready for Medford.”
