LYNN — Football: a game of adjustment.
Week 1 was bittersweet for St. Mary’s. The Spartans blanked Swampscott and won by four touchdowns, but lost starting quarterback Yaniel Belliard to a shoulder injury.
With a week to think about things – and hungry KIPP Academy in its way – St. Mary’s took care of business with a 34-0 win Friday. All points were scored in the first half.
“Two shutouts to start the year is always a good thing. I like what we’re doing – getting to the football and playing hard,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll. “Rowan (Merryman), at quarterback, did everything we asked him to do. He’s a hard runner and hard worker.”
In the first half alone, Merryman rushed for 91 yards, scored two rushing touchdowns, and completed a 50-yard pass to Sam Phelps down the right sideline.
As strong as Merryman was, he wasn’t alone. Tyren Hoeun rushed for a pair of touchdowns, Jimmy Jennings bolted for a 63-yard rushing score, and Ryan Esquivel converted four of five extra-point attempts.
“Big, tough, and well-coached,” said KIPP coach Jim Rabbitt, “that’s why we like to play them. I’m always impressed with that program.”
Driscoll added the offensive line “had a really good night,” while St. Mary’s defense did its job when called upon. Sebastian De Lorenzo recorded a third-down sack and both Jake Peterson and Rory Mannion recovered KIPP fumbles.
“This is a year in which you have a lot of seniors, but also, a lot of younger guys who can step up and play. They work hard and they’re getting some reps in,” Driscoll said. “It’s a good win. Now, we’ve got a tough stretch coming up with Gloucester and Bishop Feehan, so it’s definitely going to be interesting.”
Without five starters, including quarterback Elai Machado, KIPP received a strong performance from Aavian Pena (75 yards rushing). He scored a kickoff-return touchdown, but a block-in-the-back negated the play.
“He’s never played quarterback before,” Rabbitt said. “He picked up the offense as well as he could with two days’ notice, really. He ran hard.”
KIPP’s Jeandel Delgado hauled in two catches, while Euriel Feliz caught another. The Panthers forced a pair of turnover-on-downs in the second half.
“The message is – we just have to find our identity,” Rabbitt said. “It’s tough to run into a team like that when you’re a little bit banged up. They’re a well-coached team and you have to be perfect to beat them. I don’t care if we lose 50-0, as long as we’re working hard.”
Despite four consecutive losses to the Spartans in as many years, Rabbitt looked on the bright side postgame. KIPP hosts Manchester-Essex next Friday at 6 p.m. The Spartans hope to reel in the Gloucester Fishermen at 7 p.m. the same night.
“Just a lot of mistakes with young guys – new guys – out there,” Rabbitt said, “but there are some things we’re going to find that were positive.”
