WINTHROP — Swampscott (4-2) took care of business on the road against Winthrop (3-3) on Thursday. The Vikings have had the Big Blue’s number for the last two years, but this season, it was all Swampscott in a 38-15 win.
“They do one hell of a job. This is a good win for our program,” said Swampscott coach Peter Bush. “I kept looking up at the clock and I finally took a breath when the clock hit zero. Any time you can come here and get a win here in Winthrop is quite the accomplishment.”
Swampscott might’ve won by 23 points, but it was just a 6-0 cushion by halftime.
With 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Winthrop had the ball on Swampscott’s 1-yard line. The Vikings decided to run it and the ball came loose. Swampscott recovered to retain its narrow advantage.
“You get backed up like that and the kids move on to the next play. They don’t live in the past and don’t think about the future,” Bush said. “That’s when we’re playing our best.”
Swampscott received the ball to start the second half and needed just three plays to find the endzone. Quarterback John von Barta (212 yards, 4 TDs) completed a pass to Joe Marino (105 yards, 2 TDs) for 21 yards. Then, running back Henry Beuttler (119 yards) rushed for a 23-yard gain. And on a quarterback keeper, Barta did the honors with a 5-yard touchdown.
“The offense was patient,” Bush said. “John made a couple of throws in the second half and obviously, Henry running the ball downhill adds a different dimension where the defenses can’t tee off on the run or pass.”
Swampscott made it an 18-0 game when Barta found Marino for a 6-yard touchdown.
Winthrop didn’t go away, however, as quarterback Matthew Noonan connected with Seth Sacco for a 34-yard touchdown with 20 seconds ticking in the third quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, it was all Beuttler, Marino, and Barta.
Barta found Marino for a 65-yard touchdown and Beuttler broke several tackles to find the end zone on a 23-yard rusher.
Bush spoke highly of Beuttler’s patience.
“I think the running back position is very rhythmical, where they’re seeing the bodies in front of them and see how they’re moving. I think it slows down for him to the point where he can see what’s going to happen before it happens,” Bush said. “We try to throw different scenarios at these guys to make sure they know their pre-snap reads. He’s one of our strongest and fastest kids. We’ll watch the film, but he’ll run through an initial tackle and then in the open field, he’s great in space.”
Beuttler credited his offensive line and fellow blockers.
“I have to give it to the people around me,” he said. “Everyone walked in and they were all blocking who they were supposed to be blocking. I saw the effort level go way up. The first half was pretty rocky, but in the second half, it all clicked.”
Barta finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and two more through the air. He drew high praise from his coach postgame.
“John’s a warrior and a competitor. It carried over from last spring as a freshman as a key contributor on the lacrosse team that made the Final 4,” Bush said. “He’s not afraid and that’s the big thing. He wants to compete and he’s coachable. He listens and does the little things right. He’s always asking for more film and wants to be coached hard.”
Losing to a Northeastern Conference rival two years in a row is never easy. Coming into Thursday’s game, Beuttler said he and his teammates were ready to turn the page.
“Honestly, the past two years, we lost to this team. This year, we have a lot more seniors and a lot more guys. We know what we’re doing and we’re a lot more developed,” Beuttler said. “We’re confident in ourselves and we let our game do the talking.”
