MEDFORD — The Lynn Classical football team battled with Medford for more than three quarters Thursday night, but the Mustangs broke through late to hand the Rams a 20-0 loss.
The game was locked in a scoreless tie until late in the third quarter. That’s when Medford found the end zone to take the lead, then added two more touchdowns in the fourth to pull away.
“We were tied at zero late in the third quarter but they scored to end the third quarter and scored twice in the fourth quarter,” Rams head coach Brian Smith said.
Classical dropped to 0-3 with the loss, coming into the game shorthanded as several key injuries forced players into new roles. Smith noted the team started a new quarterback and two new offensive linemen against the Mustangs.
“We’re really banged up as a team,” Smith said. “We had a few new guys starting tonight including a new starting quarterback and two new starting linemen. We didn’t have enough forces tonight and Medford played a great game. Hats off to them.”
Despite the loss, Smith praised his team’s defensive effort, which kept the Rams in the game until the late stages.
“Defensively I felt we played well. It was 0-0 late in the third quarter so I felt we did a great job and made plays,” Smith said.
Several players stood out on that side of the ball according to Smith.
“Tommy Nolan played well at linebacker,” Smith said. “Gianni McKay also played well defensively and made a lot of tackles.”
Still, Smith acknowledged the Rams are in a rebuilding phase as they try to navigate through a young roster and a string of injuries.
“We’re definitely young and trying to get better each week. Hopefully we’ll keep working and get better, but right now we’re not a very good football team,” Smith said.
Even so, Smith said he was encouraged by the effort and resilience his players showed.
“I told my guys we just need to keep getting better each week. The main thing is to just try and get healthy. We have so many injuries right now held over from the Everett game,” Smith said. “They just need to keep fighting. I’m proud of their effort. We just ran out of gas at the end.”
Lynn Classical will look to earn its first win of the season next week when it hosts Cathedral on Saturday at 3 p.m.
