SOMERVILLE — Talk about Halloween night theatrics.
Friday evening’s matchup between Lynn English and Somerville was a winner-take-all for the Greater Boston League title. For the second consecutive season, the Bulldogs brought the conference crown back to Lynn with a 32-22 win.
“It feels awesome. It’s the second year with the title — last year, we tied with Medford,” said second-year English coach Tyllor McDonald.
All season long, the Bulldogs’ offense has featured a two-headed monster of Shane Knowlton-Simard and Xavier Beauchamp (177 yards rushing, 3 TDs).
That was still the case Friday.
After a 32-yard rush on third down by Beauchamp, he took the next play 36 yards to the end zone to open the scoring for the Bulldogs.
On the Highlanders’ first possession, they took 10 minutes off the clock as they slowly worked their way downfield. However, on fourth down inside the Bulldogs’ 10-yard line, English came up with a stop.
The Bulldogs took over and within minutes, had six more points on the board after a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Isaiah Goorahlal (14-0).
In the second half, the Highlanders started to find success through the air and put points on the board. The hosts stayed in the game, but every time the Highlanders scored, the Bulldogs had an answer.
After a 65-yard touchdown by Somerville, the Bulldogs responded with a seven-play, 55-yard drive with Knowlton-Simard accounting for 45 yards – including an 11-yard touchdown run to make it 26-14.
Somerville answered with a score and two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 26-22 – that’s when Knowlton-Simard stepped up. On third-and-15, he connected with freshman Makai Kirk for a 14-yard completion to set up fourth-and-short.
Knowlton-Simard kept the drive alive by avoiding edge rushers and escaping to the outside before finding Kirk drifting away from his defender and getting both feet inbounds for a catch.
McDonald praised his young receiver – and veteran Knowlton-Simard – for the clutch play.
“Shane is one of the best players in the state — it’s not even a question. His size, speed and athleticism . . . I’m just not surprised at all,” McDonald said. “I was more impressed by the catch from freshman Makai Kirk. He’s emerging as a big-time playmaker.”
Throughout the second half, Knowlton-Simard made plays to keep the Bulldogs’ GBL title hopes alive. When the lights were shining brightest, McDonald and his coaching staff didn’t hesitate to put the ball in his hands.
“Every game this year, we knew as a staff that he’s going to be the best player on the field,” McDonald said. “When games like this happen, when we’re only up four points, we call his number.”
Another player who stepped up on the defensive side was sophomore Aaden Soto, who registered multiple sacks and controlled the line of scrimmage for English.
“Aaden is a great kid. He’s very respectful and smart. But as a football player, he’s absolutely one of the best players in the area,” McDonald said. “He’s athletic and at the same time, he’s a bigger kid, so he’s hard to move. He makes plays at the line of scrimmage. We see it at practice and as a sophomore, he comes out here and looks like a senior. I tip my hat to Aaden.”
