Showdown at Danvers 10/07/05
This night was a battle of champions - two unbeaten teams going for bragging rights in the Northeast Conference.
Danvers Defeats
Classical Football
By Gordon Vincent / The Daily Item of Lynn,
Saturday, October 8, 2005
DANVERS - In
a game with a combined 57 points scored, the biggest play might have been a
punt.
With the Lynn Classical High football team trailing by just eight points and
building momentum, Kyle Pydynkowski's 59-yard punt for Danvers pinned the Rams
at their own 6-yard line with six seconds left in the third quarter.
Classical didn't move the ball back into Danvers' territory again until the
Falcons had scored two more touchdowns on their way to a 35-18 win, Friday, at
Dr. Deering Stadium.
The Falcons improved to 5-0 and remained in first place in the Northeastern
Conference, while the Rams fell to 4-1.
"We came over here, played a very good football team and got beat,"
Classical coach Matt Durgin said. "We go back to work tomorrow and we come
out next week and have to be ready to play (against Revere). If we dwell on this
loss, we're in trouble."
Danvers picked up all but 10 of its 357 yards of offense on the ground, and got
huge efforts from Dee Cockhren (13 rushes, 155 yards, 2 TDs) and Colin Lynch
(12-123, 1 TD). The only pass Danvers quarterback Andrew Hemeon threw during the
game was a 10-yard score to Konrad Perry.
Classical's ground game was contained for most of the night by Danvers' defense.
The longest run by either of the Rams' running duo of Jeff Watson (14-54, TD)
and James Green (14-39) was a 13-yard gain by Green in the third quarter.
Classical quarterback Michael Quintana threw a pair of touchdown passes, a
60-yarder to Quivari Jackson (3 catches-69 yards) and a 33-yarder to Chad
Quintana, and two interceptions.
The Falcons scored their first touchdown of the game late in the first
quarter on a quick 6-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a 36-yard
touchdown run by Lynch on a reverse.
Classical answered on its first play of the ensuing drive, when Michael Quintana
found Jackson in between a seam in the defense at the Danvers' 30-yard line.
Jackson ran from the right sideline all the way across the field, where he
picked up a couple of blocks, turned the corner and eventually eased into the
end zone.
Danvers came right back with a 50-yard run by Lynch on the final play of the
first quarter, which set up a 5-yard scoring run by Cockhren. A pass for two
points was good and Danvers led, 14-6, with 9:18 left in the first half.
The Rams drove the ball to the Danvers' 37 on their next series, but on
second-and-eight Michael Quintana's pass to Green was picked off by Lynch, who
returned it 36 yards to the Falcons' 40-yard line.
"That was a bad call on my part," Durgin said. "I was hoping we
could put one in the end zone before the half."
Danvers moved the ball methodically on the ground until Hemeon found Konrad
Perry on the left side of the end zone with 1:31 left in the first half. The
extra-point try failed, and the Falcons led, 20-6, at halftime.
Classical's second drive of the second half was its best of the night, with the
Rams marching 64 yards in 10 running plays, the last of which was a 7-yard burst
by Watson for a touchdown to make the score 20-12.
Danvers picked up two yards on three plays on its next series and the Rams
figured to get the ball into decent field position, until Pydynkowski unloaded
his 59-yard punt. Due to some confusion, no one was in position for the Rams to
field or fair-catch the kick and the ball rolled out of bounds at the Classical
6.
Three plays for the Rams went nowhere, and the Falcons took over at the
Classical 34 after a 12-yard return by Alex Perry. Seven plays later, Perry ran
in from the two-yard line and a two-point conversion made the score 28-12, with
6:59 left in the game. Cockhren ran 87 yards for the Falcons' final score,
while the Quintana-to-Quintana screen pass from 33 yards accounted for
Classical's last touchdown.
Thanks to all the Ram fans who came out on a drizzly evening for an important game. Do you see a friend in the stands ?
