BILLERICA — No. 8 St. Mary’s traveled to face top-seeded Shawsheen Valley Tech in the Division 5 Round of 8. After a one-score meeting during the regular season, Shawsheen (10-0) left no doubt Friday and eliminated the Spartans (6-4) 28-7.
Talk about setting the tone. On just the third play of the game, Shawsheen’s Jake Banda intercepted Yaniel Belliard and returned it to the St. Mary’s 27-yard line, giving the Rams excellent field position.
Do-it-all Banda (218 yards rushing) finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Later in the first quarter, Shawsheen lined up to punt. St. Mary’s blocked it and Tyren Hoeun scooped up the ball before running untouched into the end zone, but a blindside-block penalty wiped out the score.
“The blocked punt was huge and great for us, but we had a stupid penalty for a blindside block,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll.
Driscoll also pointed to early turnovers.
“In the first half, we lost the game with two turnovers and giving them short fields,” he said. “We struggled with them up front. We knew they were going to be tough and able to move the ball, but I thought we would have played better.”
The second turnover came when Belliard and Rowan Merryman mishandled a handoff and the ball was recovered by the Rams in Spartan territory.
Banda scored again after the recovery to make it 14-0 during the second quarter.
“Whenever we got momentum, they took it right back in the first half,” Driscoll said.
Shawsheen extended the lead to 21-0 before halftime when Adam Caruso hit Quinn Carbone for an 11-yard touchdown pass.
“I thought we came out fast. I thought we just set the tone right from the start and came out a lot quicker than the first time we played them,” said Shawsheen coach Al Costabile. “The guys were ready and that was the difference (from the regular season meeting).”
The second half was closer, but the Spartans still couldn’t slow down Banda, who capped his night with a 4-yard touchdown run — his third score of the game.
“He’s a horse. Give it up to the O-line — they did a great job blocking for him — but he’s also a horse,” Costabile said. “He’s one heck of a runner.”
St. Mary’s broke through late when Merryman rushed for a 25-yard touchdown.
“We hung in there in the second half, but they’re a good team and very physical and strong. They won all those games in a row for a reason,” Driscoll said. “It’s a great place to play . . . just wish we played better.”
Driscoll said the focus shifts to Thanksgiving Day.
“We have to lick our wounds and regroup over the weekend. We have a big rivalry game against Fenwick on Thanksgiving,” he said. “A lot of these kids haven’t played Thanksgiving morning yet, so it’s a big deal. We have to get them ready.”
