Football.htm

Classical varsity award-winners, kneeling from left, are Jarred Mitchell; Robbie Nelson; the team water boy; and Errol Bluefort; and, standing, from left, Jasper Grassa, Chevere Archer, Casey Johnson, Will Kusch, Josh Cheever, Buddy Ford, and Daniel Omoregie at the Classical football banquet at the Prince Restaurant Monday. (ITEM PHOTO / REBA M. SALDANHA)

Lynn Classical Junior Varsity defeated Lynn English JV 36-14. Lynn Classical rushed out to a 36-8 halftime lead behind two John Finnigan touchdown passes, a Joe Scuzzarella rush, and a Rudy Colleymore kick return. Sam Rios also caught a TD and rushed for one. Kyle Gauthier also had several long receptions and caught two conversion passes. Classical piled up over 400 yards of total offense behind the blocking of Fernando Velasquez and Jarred Mitchell. The defense was led by Astrell Fort and Craig Kanynagarara.

LYNN -- Moral victories don't mean much in football, but Lynn Classical can take some solace and maybe some momentum into Thanksgiving after Friday night's 21-14 loss to undefeated Gloucester at Manning Field.

The Fishermen (10-0; 5-0 NEC North) clinched yet another division championship and a playoff berth, but the Rams (6-4; 3-1) made them earn it. Classical had the ball at Gloucester's 15-yard line in the final minute of the game, but the bid for a potential tying score was thwarted when Alessandro D'Angelo intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone with 28 seconds left.

"We got the job done," Gloucester coach Paul Ingram said. "Some good will come out of this. A game like this helps us immensely. We had to overcome some obstacles tonight and we're a little banged up, but give (Classical) credit. They made some plays."

Classical's defense stepped to the fore, holding Gloucester running back Conor Ressel, the presumptive conference MVP, to 51 yards on 17 carries. Had the Fishermen not turned an interception into a drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown run by Ressel at the end of the half and then scored on a 38-yard pass from Brett Cahill to Brandon Cusumano on a blown coverage on their opening drive of the second half, the Rams would have likely pulled off a monumental upset.

Gloucester's Jordan Shairs also scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Classical's touchdowns came on a 5-yard run by Kashawn Avery and a 1-yard run by Casey Johnson, both in the fourth quarter.

"It's tough to fall behind a team like that 21-0 and come back," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "We had a chance there at the end, and we played pretty well, but it's still a tough loss."

Gloucester's defense dominated the first half, allowing Classical just 10 total yards and one first down. Offensively, the Fishermen took their second possession of the game and marched 54 yards in eight plays and were helped by a pass interference penalty on Classical on third-and-11 from the Rams' 31. Ressel went 17 yards on the next play and Shairs bowled in from there. The PAT kick was good and Gloucester led, 7-0, with 7:32 left in the first half.

Shairs picked off a tipped pass from Classical quarterback Nick Grassa, and a personal foul penalty at the end of the play set up the Fisherman at the Rams' 43 with 2:23 left in the half. Shairs ran 22 yards on the next play, then picked up three yards on a fourth-and-1 play from the 12, and Ressel ran into the end zone two downs later. The point-after kick was blocked and Gloucester led, 13-0, with nine seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Gloucester's first drive of the second half started at the Rams' 45 and two plays later Cahill found Cusumano wide open down the left sideline for an easy score. Shairs ran for two points and Gloucester was ahead, 21-0, just 2:08 into the second half.

Classical finally got its offense going midway through the third quarter. Nick Grassa hit Jasper Grassa for a 25-yard gain and then a pass interference penalty on fourth down put the ball at Gloucester's 11-yard line. Two plays later, Avery ran around right end to put Classical on the scoreboard with 10:54 left in the game.

The Fishermen went three-and-out on their next series and Classical mounted another scoring drive, a 61-yard, 13-play march that was kept alive by another Gloucester penalty and another big pass from Grassa to Grassa, this one for 33 yards to the 15-yard line. Another pass to Jasper Grassa picked up 11 yards and three plays later Johnson dived into the end zone. Nick Grassa's kick was good and Classical trailed, 21-14, with 1:51 left in the game.

Gloucester recovered an onside kick, but Classical's defense held and the Rams got the ball back at their own 46-yard line. Nick Grassa ran for 23 yards and then hooked up with Johnson for 15 yards on a fourth-and-11 play, but after two incomplete passes around an intentional grounding penalty, Classical was forced to throw a Hail Mary into the end zone that was batted but then fell into the arms of D'Angelo.

That set the stage for the final two plays of the game, kneel-downs by Gloucester, the last of which ended with a fight on the field.

"It got out of hand," Ingram said. "Their coaching staff didn't start it. Our coaching staff didn't start it. But I don't want to get into that. It was just a great football game. It was disappointing the kids didn't get to shake hands, but they (officials) didn't want them to."

LYNN -- It's not often that a team recovers two onside kicks in the same quarter, let alone a game; holds a team to 68 yards of total offense; and runs twice as many plays. But for Classical on Friday at Manning Field against Peabody, all those things proved to be true.

The Rams put themselves in position to play for the Northeastern Conference's North Division title next week thanks to a complete effort in all phases of a 22-0 win over the Tanners on a frigid night in Lynn.

"We're playing well at the right time," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "Our defense played well and we didn't make many mistakes."

Classical basically dominated the game in every statistical category you can ... but the most telling mark was in time of possession, where the Rams held a decided advantage (27:33-16:27).

Despite the lopsided nature of the total yardage (360-68) and the time of possession, the Tanners found themselves very much in the game with a chance to cut into a 15-0 lead in the fourth quarter, but Jamal Abu-Hijleh saw a sure touchdown pass slip through his fingers.

"There were probably three critical plays that cost us a chance to win the game," Peabody coach Scott Wlasuk said. "That was a great call by coach (Ed) Melanson there and we just missed it."

Things started ominously for Peabody as Mark D'Addario fumbled on the second play of the night and Classical's Jasper Grassa recovered at the Tanner 48. But the Peabody defense rose up and stopped Grassa on a fourth-and-two at the 13 to seize back the momentum.

After a series of punts, Peabody forced another turnover at the start of the second quarter as Nathaniel Gaye recovered a Nick Grassa fumble at the Peabody 44. But the Tanners went three-and-out on the next series and wouldn't take another snap on offense until there was 8:14 left in the third quarter.

Classical got the ball at its 30 after the punt and used a 28-yard pass from Grassa to Casey Johnson to get its offense going. Four plays later, Kashaun Avery powered in from the four to make it 8-0 after Jasper Grassa's conversion rush.

Phelps then called for an onside kick and Classical recovered at the Peabody 49. Afterwards, Phelps said that came by design.

"We had practiced onside kicks all week," Phelps said. "It's something we like to do and one of the good things about it is now teams have to prepare for it."

Classical immediately made the gamble pay off as Nick Grassa hit Chevere Archer for a 37-yard gain to the Tanner 12. Two snaps later, Jasper Grassa scored from two yards out to make it 15-0 with 4:16 left in the half.

It had worked once, so Phelps decided to gamble a second time with an onside kick and it worked again as Tyler Alicudo fell on a loose ball after Peabody had fumbled an attempted recovery. The Rams then methodically marched inside the Tanner five as time ran down, but Jasper Grassa was stopped three feet short of the goal line on the last play of the half, keeping it 15-0 at the break.

"A team should never recover back-to-back onside kicks," Wlasuk said. "But we got a stop and we felt confident coming out in the second half."

Peabody came up with a stop to begin the third quarter and then put together its most sustained drive of the night. Taking almost six minutes off the clock, D'Addario and Brady Doyle got the ball inside the Classical 20 before the Rams finally stiffened to force a fourth-and-seven at the 13.

On that play, quarterback Mike O'Brien threw for Abu-Hijleh in the back of the end zone, but the ball went through the hands of the wide-open man.

That would prove to be Peabody's last chance as the Rams put together a 15-play, 87-yard march after the missed pass to put the game away. Fittingly, it was the Grassa boys who delivered the knockout punch with Nick finding Jasper for a 17-yard touchdown with 4:24 left.

LYNN -- This one wasn't quite as easy as the score might indicate.

The Classical High football team defeated Revere, 36-13, Friday at Manning Field, but for three quarters, this one was a game.

The Rams held a tenuous 14-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but once the floodgates opened, it was lights-out. Classical scored three touchdowns in the final quarter to improve to 5-3 overall, 2-0 in the Northeastern Conference Large.

"In the first half, we didn't think the defense played as hard as we've done in the past. They didn't really come out to play. The second half, they definitely did. They (Revere) had that one drive, but we definitely controlled the ball and the clock," Classical coach Tim Phelps said.

Classical started off with a bang, marching 63 yards on 10 plays on the opening drive of the game for a TD and a 7-0 lead. Jasper Grassa took it the final 15 yards, but Rudy Collymore got the ball to the 15 with a big 18-yard run. Nick Grassa kicked the extra point.

Trea Weathers (26 carries, 129 rushing yards) shouldered the load on the ground for Revere. The Patriots put their first points of the game on the board on their second possession. Although they were forced to punt on 4th-and-11 from their own 41, a Classical player batted it down and Revere snapped it up, making first down in the process.

The fluke play led to a Weathers 4-yard touchdown run and a 7-7 tie (Brian Robichaud kicked the extra point).

That was as close as the Patriots would get. Classical's Casey Johnson scored his first of two touchdowns with a little over two minutes remaining in the first half to give Classical the lead for good. Johnson had three runs for 46 yards in that drive before finally pushing it in from the 4-yard line (Nick Grassa kicked the extra point) to put the Rams up, 14-7.

Neither team could do much in the third quarter. Revere launched a 10-play drive in the third quarter that fizzled at fourth-and-two on the Classical 27 early in the fourth quarter.

It was all Classical after that, with Johnson scoring his second of the night from seven yards out put the Rams up 22-7. Johnson (9 carries, 127 yards) dragged half the Revere defense along with him on a 45-yard run to get the ball to the seven. The conversion also had some entertainment value when Jasper Grassa bobbled the snap, but recovered the ball and found Johnson in the end zone for the two points.

"I think he did some basketball moves out there," Phelps said. "He dribbled the ball and threw the alley-oop to Casey. It was a good, heads-up play by Jasper."

Classical scored its next touchdown off a fumble recovery deep in Revere territory. The Rams got the ball on the 11 after a holding call set them back five yards, but two plays later, Ricky Bigwood broke through from the one and Nick Grassa kicked the extra point for the 29-7 lead.

The Rams gave Patriots good field position (the Classical 44) to start their next drive thanks to a 15-yard face-mask penalty. Revere took advantage of the gift with Weathers scoring on a 15-yard run to cut the Classical lead to 29-13.

Collymore, who had 60 yards on four carries, delivered the final blow when he scored on a 42-yard run and Nick Grassa kicked the extra point, to make the final 36-13. Chevere Archer had two sacks in a row at one point in the first half. He also had a part of a couple of others.

SALEM - In one of the most dominant defensive performances in school history, the Lynn Classical High football team shut down and shut out Salem, 21-0, Friday night at Bertram Field.

The statistics for the Rams' defense are sublime. Salem (1-6) picked up only one first down and was limited to just seven yards of total offense, including minus-20 yards of rushing. Classical (4-3) also intercepted three passes.

"Defense is our strength," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "They did their job tonight."

Offensively, Classical got a pair of touchdown runs from Jaquan Huston and a 16-yard scoring pass from quarterback Nick Grassa to Keith Nance. The Rams piled up 245 yards of rushing offense, but saw some other scoring opportunities erased by penalties and some decent defense by Salem, particularly linebacker Antonio Reyes, who continues to play outstanding football.

Jasper Grassa led the Rams with 114 yards on 13 carries, while Huston rushed 11 times for 62 yards.

"At times we looked great offensively, and there were times we lost focus," Phelps said. "But they (Witches) played us tough on the defensive side of the ball. I've always said this is a tough matchup for us because they're a big, physical football team just like we are. It doesn't matter what the records are, every time we play them, they give us a battle."

Classical scored on its opening drive of the game that went 78 yards in 14 plays. The Rams had first-and-goal from the Witches' 8-yard line, but three plays went backwards eight yards and Classical needed to put the ball in the end zone. Nick Grassa lofted a high pass to Nance in the front right corner, and the Rams led, 6-0, when Nick Grassa missed the point-after kick with 2:52 left in the first quarter.

"That fourth-down pass when we looked like we had them contained really hurt us," Salem coach Scott Connolly said. "I'm proud of the way our defense played tonight. I know we had trouble moving the ball, but the players never gave up, and I'm proud of the way they kept battling."

Salem's Chris Bozarjian returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to Classical's 29-yard line, but a fake punt on 4th-and-18 was stuffed by Chevere Archer at the Rams' 40. Classical then marched 60 yards in 13 plays and was helped out by a personal foul in the secondary on third-and-13 early in the drive. Huston handled the last three carries, including a 1-yard plunge off left tackle for a touchdown. Jasper Grassa's 2-point rushing conversion made the score 14-0 with 5:42 left in the second quarter.

Neither team threatened to score again until late in the third quarter. A high snap on a punt forced Salem's Reyes to throw a desperate pass that was broken up by Classical's Buddy Ford, and the Rams took over at the Witches' 28-yard line. Four plays later, Huston bounced a run up the middle to the right and ran 22 yards for his second score of the game. Nick Grassa's extra-point kick was good and the Rams led, 21-0, with eight seconds left in the third quarter.

The Witches had good starting field position when Reyes intercepted a pass at the Rams' 29-yard line with 7:44 left in the game, but three plays picked up only three yards and Brad Skeffington's hurried pass attempt on fourth down was knocked down just beyond the line of scrimmage.

Salem's last two drives of the game ended with interceptions by Archer and Nance.

"They play great defense," Salem's Connolly said. "They're big and strong, and they fly to the ball. That was definitely an outstanding defensive effort by them."

For the Lynn Classical football team, the road to a playoff berth begins on Friday night (7) when the Rams travel to Bertram Field to open the Northeastern Conference/North portion of their schedule against Salem.

Classical (3-3) comes in off a 19-14 win at Malden last week that saw the Rams trail 14-7 entering the fourth quarter. But Casey Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Nick Grassa and fullback Ricky Bigwood added a late 2-yard plunge.

The Classical defense was outstanding again in the win, forcing five turnovers, three of them interceptions. The Rams allowed 151 yards of total offense.

Keith Nance gave the Rams offense a boost, carrying eight times for 102 yards while also catching a 28-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter from Grassa.

Classical will face a Salem squad that, to say the least, has had its troubles on offense this year.

The Witches (1-5, 0-1 NEC North) have scored over 12 points just twice in six games and come in off a 35-13 thumping at the hands of Marblehead last week. Quarterback Brad Skeffington threw for 132 yards and both Salem touchdowns, but he also was intercepted four times by the Magician defense.

MALDEN - A week after a fourth-quarter loss to Beverly, Lynn Classical ended up on the winning side of a heartbreaker.

It wasn't pretty - no game that features a combined nine fumbles and five interceptions ever is - but Classical scored 12 points in the final quarter to eke out a 19-14 victory over Malden at MacDonald Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Rams (3-3) fumbled the ball six times in the second half, losing possession on four occasions. But two late touchdowns, and a crucial recovery of an onside kick, proved to be the difference in an otherwise sloppy slugfest.

"A win's a win, but we've got some things to fix," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "We still turned the ball over a couple times, and we still fumbled ... but we got the win, so I'm excited."

Trailing, 14-7, entering the final period, Classical started things off poorly when a fumble by quarterback Nick Grassa on fourth-and-goal from the Golden Tornados' two-yard line ended what could have been a tying drive.

The Rams' defense stepped up, though, when Desmond Avery picked off a pass by Malden quarterback Shakarus Semexant to give Classical possession at the Tornados' 21.

Classical capitalized on fourth-and-goal on the drive. Grassa found Casey Johnson in the back of the end zone from 13 yards out, bringing the Rams within one. Classical opted for two, but Johnson was denied on his carry.

Phelps said the decision to go for two was a combination of his team's inconsistent kicking and the offensive struggles in the second half.

"We hit [an extra point] today, but that was the first one we hit in a couple weeks," he said. "I felt better going for [two]. And to be honest, I didn't know if we were going to score again, so I wanted to go for the win."

With just over five minutes remaining, the Rams recovered the ensuing onside kick, regaining possession at the Malden 49. Aided by a facemask penalty on the Tornados, the Rams marched downfield. Eight plays later, Ricky Bigwood found pay dirt from two yards out, giving the Rams a 19-14 edge with a minute and a half to play.

Malden (2-4) made things interesting by advancing to the Classical 40, but the game ended on Semexant's fumble with no time remaining, sealing the Rams' victory.

In the first half, both teams struggled to do much offensively. An early Malden turnover allowed Classical to score the half's only points, when Grassa hooked up with Keith Nance from 28 yards out to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.

Malden, meanwhile, struggled throughout the half. The Tornados threw two interceptions and fumbled away another possession, and netted just 54 yards in the two periods.

"We feel like we were too sloppy to win a football game," Malden coach Joseph Pappagallo said. "We talked about eliminating mistakes, but obviously we weren't able to do that, and it cost us the game."

The Tornados, however, came out with a sense of urgency in the third. They tied the game on Nick Hoyt's three-yard rush late in the period, and took the lead on a 30-yard pass from Semexant to David Console just two minutes later.

Both touchdowns were preceded by Classical fumbles; the Rams lost the ball three times in the third.

But when it came down to crunch time, the Rams converted the two necessary scoring drives to steal the victory.

"Our defense had a chance to win the game by just stopping them," Pappagallo said. "But we struggled doing it."

LYNN -- It's probably a good thing the city decided to stop letting people into football games at Manning Field for free after the first half.

Although the move was made for safety reasons, anyone who tried to save a few bucks by coming to Friday night's Classical-Beverly showdown late would have missed one of the more memorable second quarters in years, and anyone who failed to stick around until the end would be kicking themselves for missing an exciting, albeit controversial, finish that ended up with Classical on the short end of a 34-28 decision.

The Rams were knocking on the door at the Beverly 13 when time ran out. Classical quarterback Nick Grassa tied to spike the ball with seconds left to stop the clock, but he bobbled the snap and officials ruled that his knee was down.

"There was some miscommunication between officials and the coaching staff. It was a tough way to lose," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "It was disappointing, but we saw some good things today. Overall we played well."

The Rams certainly put up some winning numbers, rushing for 234 yards on 54 carries with Casey Johnson doing yeoman's work with 130 yards on 21 carries. He also caught five passes for 70 yards and scored three touchdowns, two on runs (4 yards and 39 yards) and one on a 25-yard pass from Nick Grassa.

Beverly did most of its damage in the air, with Mark Hannable going 10-13 for 157 yards (Beverly threw for 161 overall). Steve Dubois had five catches for 65 yards, including a 40-yard pass from Hannable.

The first quarter was fairly quiet on both sides, with Classical breaking the ice in the final second on Johnson's four-yard touchdown run (the kick failed). The floodgates opened for both teams in the second quarter -- a quarter that was more like a track meet than a football game. The two teams scored seven touchdowns (four by Beverly, three by Classical) before the halftime whistle sounded.

Dylan Terry put Beverly on the board to start the second half. The drive started at the Beverly 46 and ended three plays later with a 17-yard touchdown run by Dylan Terry (Ryan Flannery kick). Hannable, who had been sidelined with mononucleosis, had a 23-yard keeper on third-and-four from the Classical 40 to keep the drive alive.

When Classical fumbled the kickoff, Terry was there to scoop the ball up at the six and run it six yards for the touchdown and a 13-6 Beverly lead (the kick failed).

The Rams answered the call on the next drive of the game. Eleven plays and 62 yards later, Jasper Grassa ran the ball in from the three and Johnson's rush was good, giving Classical a 14-13 lead.

Tipped balls were the order of the day for a while. Beverly's Justin Marrs got things going with a 50-yard kick return to the Classical 30. Hannable went to Marrs on the next pass and Marrs caught the 30-yard touchdown pass, after it was tipped by Johnson.

The Rams bounced right back on their next possesses. When the ball was fumbled on the first play of the drive, Dan Omoreggie scooped it up for the Rams and ran 30 yards to put his team at the Beverly 47. Three plays later, Johnson broke for a 39-yard touchdown run (Grassa rush) and the Rams regained the lead, 22-21.

Beverly got that one back on the ensuing possession when Hannable threw a 40-yard pass to Dubois and Flannery kicked the extra point for a 28-22 lead. It wasn't over yet, however. Classical tied the game on its next possession when Nick Grassa found Johnson with a 25-yard touchdown pass (rush failed). After 56 total points, 50 of them coming in the second quarter, the two teams hit the locker room tied 28-28.

Beverly took the lead for good with about 3:28 remaining in the game on a Hannable 17-yard pass to Curtis Manual (kick failed).

It looked like the Rams were finished, but they didn't roll over. Nick Grassa marched his team from its own 28 down to the Beverly 13. On third and 11 from the 13, Grassa attempted to spike the ball to stop the clock, but his knee touched the ground and time ran out.

"I thought the offense played well," Phelps said. "I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage."

Phelps wasn't happy with the fumbles, but he was encouraged to see his team bounce back from some of its mistakes. Classical is 2-3.

For Classical, finding consistency on offense is job number one. After the Rams rushed for 324 yards against Marblehead two weeks ago, the Vikings held Classical to a total of 89 yards on the ground last week.

"The first couple of possessions, we looked great, and the last couple were great," Phelps said. "But in the middle, we weren't so great. We've got to learn to play for four quarters."

The Classical defense held the Vikings to 211 total yards, but Winthrop took advantage of a couple of critical turnovers, turning them into Nick McCarthy touchdowns. And the job doesn't get easier this week against a Panther team that boasts plenty of talent.

"They run the spread offense, but like to run out of it," Phelps said. "They get you spread across the field and like to run up the middle or on the edge. You have to get to the ball and have kids make open-field tackles."

Tim Phelps has been associated with the Classical football program for a few years now, and he's always felt the Rams are at a disadvantage when they go to Miller Field in Winthrop.

"It's a tough place to play," Phelps said. "The whole thing works well for Winthrop, and they always play well there ... they have one of the best home-field advantages in the Northeastern Conference."

Classical gets to go over there Friday night (7) to face a Vikings team hungry for a win. The Vikings, after winning their season opener over Salem, have lost two straight -- to English two weeks ago and to Gloucester last Friday. It should be noted that both of those losses game away from Miller Field.

"They played English tough at Manning," said Phelps. "They have quite a schedule -- Salem, English, Gloucester and us ... I'd imagine that's tough to deal with all in a row."

However, Phelps won't dwell on any woes Winthrop might have. He's busy dealing with his team, which is riding a two-game winning streak with victories over Wakefield and Marblehead (both on the road).

"We've been inconsistent at times," Phelps said. "We scored on our first two drives last week. We drove right down and scored ... and then, on our fourth drive, we couldn't do anything.

"Same thing on defense," Phelps said. "We hold them to two three-and-outs to open the game, and then they have a six-play drive and score on us. We have to learn how to play all the time."

While Phelps is generally happy with the way his team has played, he singled out two early-season surprises. One is Tech transfer Josh Cheever, who, he says, "has picked up our offense and defense really well."

Cheever is a starting defensive tackle and a backup offensive tackle.

The other surprise, Phelps said, is sophomore Rudy Collymore, a running back, who "will give the rest of the backs more competition, which we like," he said.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MARBLEHEAD -- Lynn Classical rushed for 321 yards against Marblehead on Friday night ... And it almost wasn't enough to hold off the Magicians at Piper Field.

Marblehead quarterback Hayes Richardson's passing clinic made sure of that.

Richardson put up 41 passes, completing 21 of them for 241 yards and two touchdowns. The game, though, came down to one play as Classical's Casey Johnson dashed 49 yards for a touchdown, his third of the night, on fourth and a foot with 29 seconds left to finally ensure a 28-15 Rams win.

"I had been preaching to the team all week that this was going to be a tough game," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "Marblehead was coming in off two great games and we were able to step up at times and make some big plays."

Johnson's touchdown run in the final moments was the final big play in a fourth quarter that saw the Classical (2-1) defense come up with two huge defensive stops, including an endzone interception from Keith Nance, in the first three minutes of the fourth. And Johnson rip off a 78 yard touchdown run that gave the Rams a two touchdown lead only to see Richardson bring Marblehead (2-1) back with a touchdown pass of his own at the 1:00 mark.

But the Rams recovered Mike Bernato's onside kick and saw Johnson put the game on ice moments later.

"The first half kind of killed us because we didn't come out firing," Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff said. "We started off on our heels and were kind of fortunate to only be down two scores."

Classical was firing on all cylinders early as it forced Marblehead to punt on the game's opening drive and then marched 34 yards on eight plays to a 7-0 lead on the first of Johnson's three scores.

Following another Marblehead three-and-out, Classical upped the lead to 15-0 when Kashaun Avery won a footrace to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown and 2-point pass from Jasper Grassa to Johnson.

Early in the second quarter, the Rams were in position to go in for the kill after Avery snared the first of Richardson's three interceptions and returned it to the Marblehead 20. But the Magician defense stood tall and held, forcing a Nick Grassa incompletion on fourth-and-five.

Richardson, who had thrown for two yards to this point, then got the Magicians in position to strike when he hit Evan Comeau (eight catches, 123 yards) for a 31-yard gain to the Rams 37. But the Classical pass rush, which harried Richardson throughout the first half, rushed a throw and Avery got his second interception of the half to send the Rams to the dressing room up by 15.

"At the half we got together and talked about what we needed to do and the kids stepped up," Rudloff said.

Marblehead forced a three and out by the Rams to start the third quarter. With a virtually nonexistent running attack, Richardson used screens and short swing passes to his slot receivers to act as a run game.

Comeau gained 10 yards on a slip screen and then 11 more on the next play to get the ball to the Ram 30. Two plays later, Richardson threw a strike to Matt Perlow on a skinny post for a 26 yard touchdown that cut the lead to seven after a sneak for a 2-point conversion by the senior quarterback.

Classical moved right back down field, reaching the Marblehead 16 late in the third before fumbling on fourth-and-seven. The Magicians then got a 37-yard strike from Richardson to Alex Haigis on the penultimate play of the third quarter to put them in position for the tying points. But Classical forced two incompletions at the beginning of the fourth quarter to thwart that march.

"Defensively, we were winded at times there," Phelps said. "And we can't put pressure on our 'D' like that as an offense."

Rudloff has been pleased with the way that his backfield has jelled together so quickly.

"Hayes is a very cool customer back there and is a very intelligent player," Rudloff said. "Quigley is only a sophomore and Evan Comeau was a short-yardage specialist last year. So to be able to get what we're getting from them is great."

The explosive ability of the Marblehead offense is something that has the attention of the Rams.

"It's going to be a test for our defense," Phelps said. "Their offense has the ability to score points and (Richardson) has a rocket for an arm. And they've got a couple of players that they like to give the ball to."

WAKEFIELD -- It was a complete performance in all phases for the Lynn Classical football team on Thursday night at Landrigan Field.

Classical forced six turnovers, returned an interception for a touchdown, blocked a punt for a safety and held Wakefield in negative rushing yards until the game was well in hand en route to a 34-14 win over the Warriors.

"That is the kind of defensive team that we're hoping to have all year," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "We talked about it all this week. They made mistakes and we were able to capitalize."

The Rams (1-1) held the Middlesex League power to only eight first downs, and after giving up a touchdown to fall behind 7-6 in the first quarter, forced five turnovers and a punt on Wakefield's next six possessions.

"I've been here a long time and I don't think I've ever seen that," Wakefield coach Mike Boyages said about the turnovers. "This was a tough one for us."

Wakefield got the ball to start the game and the turnover flaw showed up immediately when Chevere Archer blasted tailback Ervin St. Jean in the backfield to force a fumble that Buddy Ford recovered for the Rams at the Wakefield 40.

"Chevere is a great athlete and he's worked super hard in the offseason," Phelps said.

The Rams cashed in on the chance four plays later when Rudy Cullymore swept off tackle and went 39 yards on third-and-20 for a touchdown and a 6-0 Classical lead (Nick Grassa's extra point was blocked).

"That play was blocked perfectly," Phelps said. "And that's what we tried to clean up this week."

The lead for the Rams lasted all of 21 seconds as St. Jean ripped off a 26-yard gain on the next Wakefield snap. A personal foul on the Rams tacked on 15 more yards to the Classical 16, from where Zach Duffy hit Shane Taylor on a slant for a touchdown and a 7-6 lead after Connor O'Brien's extra point.

From there on, though, it was all Rams.

Early in the second quarter, Classical saw a lengthy drive stall inside the Wakefield 20. One play later, Jasper Grassa stole back all the momentum for the Rams.

Duffy rolled left and threw across his body for Matt Lincoff over the middle. Grassa stepped in front of the receiver and returned the ball 30 yards for a score and a 12-6 lead.

After the teams exchanged punts, Classical forced another turnover when Duffy was sacked and fumbled. Ricky Bigwood recovered for the Rams at the Warriors 20.

A holding penalty momentarily stopped Classical's momentum and forced the Rams into a third-and-24 at the Warrior 34. Nick Grassa and Casey Johnson, though, got Classical out of the predicament as Johnson outjumped a defender to make a stellar catch along the right sideline for a touchdown and an 18-6 lead at halftime.

"It's nice to not have just that one go-to guy that everyone can key on," Phelps said.

Classical got the ball to start the second half and didn't waste much time in sending many Warrior fans to the exits. Jaquan Huston ripped off a 30-yard run on the second play of the third quarter and Kashaun Avery followed with a 33-yard touchdown run that upped the gap to 25-7 just 1:01 into the third.

Two possessions later, Avery recovered Wakefield's seventh fumble of the night at the Warrior 19. Five plays later, Huston went in from seven yards out to give Classical a 32-7 lead.

All that was left was for the special teams to get into the act and they did on the next possession as Connor O'Brien's punt was blocked through the back of the end zone for a safety and a 34-7 lead.

The Lynn Classical football team outgained Catholic Conference power Catholic Memorial by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in its season opener last week. But a penalty here and a big play there by the Knights were enough to offset the discrepancy in yardage and give CM a 17-0 win at Manning Field.

The Rams and coach Tim Phelps will hope to carry that stellar play into Thursday night, when they hit the road and travel to Landrigan Field in Wakefield to take on the Warriors in a non-conference meeting (6).

Classical (0-1) had the advantage in nearly every statistical category against the Knights, but seven penalties and a costly interception proved to be a combination that the Rams couldn't overcome.

"I thought that we moved the ball relatively well," Phelps said. "And I thought the defense played real well. We just made little mistakes, and when we did, they capitalized on them."

The Ram defense was brilliant as it faced one of the top backs in Eastern Mass. in CM senior Antonio Warren. Warren gained just 43 yards on 11 carries, but he scored twice from two yards out to help the Knights transform their big plays into points.

Senior Jaquan Huston helped lead a Classical offense that racked up 296 yards in total offense. Huston rushed for 103 of Classical's 156 rushing yards in the game.

Quarterback Nick Grassa also had a solid game in his first career start, completing 6-of-17 passes for 140 yards, but he had a critical interception that thwarted a scoring chance.

"We had it in the red zone a bunch of times and then made little mistakes that killed us," Phelps said. "We need to tighten everything up ... We definitely had a shot to win that game without the mistakes."

The Rams will be facing a Wakefield team that will be playing its season opener. The Warriors come out of the Middlesex League and finished second to Reading in that league last year with a 7-1 league mark, 8-1 overall.

Wakefield, though, will have to replace several critical players off that team, including running back Martin Hyppolite, who is the owner of almost every single season and career rushing mark for a Warrior running back and now hangs his hat at Connecticut.

But Phelps knows that the Warriors will still give his team a huge challenge.

"Wakefield is a good program. They have been for years," Phelps said. "We can't come out and lay an egg. We have to be ready to play football."

LYNN -- Mistakes proved costly for the Classical football team in a 17-0 loss to Catholic Memorial in its season opener Friday at Manning Field.

"I thought most of the game our offense did fairly well. We just couldn't sustain our drives," Classical coach Tim Phelps said. "We made mistakes and they capitalized."

Classical moved the ball well in the early going, but the first drive stalled at the CM 37 and the second one at the Knights' 24-yard line. Catholic Memorial, however, was having even less success, going three-and-out on its first two possessions.

It looked like the Rams might be ready to make some noise early in the second quarter when, with the ball at the CM 42, junior quarterback Nick Grassa lofted a pass to older brother Jasper that the receiver reeled in around the 20, but the effort was wasted when Grassa was called for offensive interference.

The football gods continued to shine on the Knights on the next series when quarterback, A.J. Doyle, floated one that Classical's Kashawn Avery and the Knights' Armani Reeves battled for in midair, with Reeves finally wrestling it away before he landed inside the five. CM running back Lorenzo Warren, who was a thorn in the Rams' side all night, punched the ball in from the two for a 6-0 lead. .

"The other kid made a fantastic play," Phelps said. "My guy went up for it just like he was supposed to."

The Knights took the 6-0 lead into the locker room. The Rams got a break on CM's first drive of the second half. Doyle went back to throw on third-and-14 from its own 41. He was nearly sacked twice, but managed to break free and hit an open receiver down around the 20, but the ball bounced off his chest to end the threat.

Classical couldn't do much with the gift, however. The Rams next two drives fizzled, as did Catholic Memorial's. The killer blow for the Rams came when CM was forced to punt on fourth-and-13. Classical fumbled the return, giving the Knights the ball on the Classical nine. CM made the mistake hurt when three plays later, Warren barreled in from four-yards out to make the score 12-0. The conversion was good, giving Catholic Memorial an insurmountable 14-0 lead.

Classical almost got one midway through the final quarter, getting the ball down to the 11-yard-line, but Huston (23-103 yards) was stopped three times trying to run it in. Catholic Memorial salted the game away on a field goal for the 17-0 final.

"We've got to have the mental focus to sustain our drives," Phelps said.

Nick Grassa was 6-for-17 for 140 yards passing and one interception. Jasper Grassa was his main target with four catches for 105 yards.

Classical plays Wakefield on Thursday.

Tony Johnson Named to D2 Football.com Preseason All-Conference Team

NORTH ANDOVER , MA – With preseason camp underway, four Merrimack College football players were named to the

D2 Football.com Preseason All-Northeast-10 Conference team Monday.

Linebacker Tony Johnson ( Lynn , MA ) was the only defensive player on the preseason squad.

Johnson, the lone sophomore to make the team, led the country with 1.25 sacks per game as a freshman and set the school

Under second-year head coach John Perry, the Warriors opened camp on Sunday, taking the field for the first time

Sunday night.

The 2009 season opener is September 5 against American International at 6 p.m. at Warrior Field.

LYNN -- Playing in the Agganis All-Star Football Classic is a big honor for most players. But when you go to Lynn Classical, wearing that jersey has a little more meaning.

Strapping on the pads one final time at Manning Field was special enough for Cam Smith. But getting two interceptions in a game that already holds special meaning for a Classical player ... that was icing on the cake.

Smith was one of many heroes for a South team that rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second half to turn a 20-7 deficit into a 28-20 win in the 48th playing of the North Shore's premier all-star event.

"Getting two picks in a game like this is great," Smith said. "This is a team filled with all-stars, and to come back like we did was great."

Smith certainly picked the right time to come into the spotlight.

His first stellar play came late in the third quarter with the South clinging to a 21-20 lead. Newburyport's Joe Clancy, who led the North with 104 yards passing and a touchdown, was leading his team down the field to steal away the momentum the South had gained when Smith stepped in front of a pass along the sidelines and made a stellar toe-tapping catch for the interception.

That play would lead to South MVP Melikke Van Alstyne's second touchdown of the game midway through the fourth quarter to make it an 8-point difference. Arlington Catholic's Corey Spencer then began driving the North back down the field to try to tie the game.

A long pass to Kevin Anderson got the ball into South territory with just over three minutes left. Smith then stepped up and made the game's biggest defensive play when he snared an overthrown pass on the right sideline and returned it 57 yards to the North 17 with 2:04 left to effectively salt away the game.

"I saw that one the whole way," Smith said. "I saw (Spencer) drop back and read the play the whole time. The corner was right there also to get it."

The Curry College-bound Smith also was very keenly aware of what it meant to be a part of the game as a Classical graduate.

"You see things about Harry all over the halls and his jersey hanging in the trophy case at school," Smith said. "It really means a lot to me to be here as a Classical kid and Coach (Matt) Durgin was telling me that it would be great to do something special in this game."

2	Grassa	Nick	JR	5'9"	180	QB/DB
3	Lopes	Brian	SR	5'9"	170	WR/DB
4	Kanyangarara	Craig	JR	5'11"	195	OL/LB
5	Avery	Kashawn	SR	5'9"	160	RB/DB
6	Huston	Jaquan	SR	5'9"	193	RB/LB
9	Muriel	Jamil	JR	5'6"	180	RB/DB
10	Avery	Desmond	SR	6'2"	180	RB/DB
11	Grassa	Jasper	SR	5'11"	180	WR/DB
12	Ebieshieva	Calvin	SO	5'11"	180	RB/LB
18	Finnigan	John	SO	5'9"	180	QB/LB
20	Soriano	Jairo	SO	5'9"	180	RB/DB
21	Alicudo	Tyler	SR	5'9"	177	RB/DB
22	Morillo	Miguel	JR	5'6"	131	RB/DB
23	White	Danny	SO	5'9"	136	RB/DB
24	Rios	Sam	JR	5'6"	144	RB/DB
25	Johnson	Casey	SR	6'2"	183	RB/LB
27	Wonde	Tony	SR	6'1"	186	RB/LB
28	Nance	Keith	JR	6'2"	180	RB/DB
30	Cromwell	Christian	JR	5'9"	180	RB/DB
32	Scuzzarella	Joe	JR	5'6"	144	RB/DB
34	Collymore	Rudy	SO	5'3"	152	RB/DB
42	Mitchell	Jarred	SO	5'6"	180	RB/LB
43	Sisson	Eric	JR	5'9"	180	RB/LB
45	Pirez	Sergio	SO	5'11"	206	OL/DL
	Garcia	Rafael	SO	5'11"	191	OL/LB
47	Wilhemson	Mike	SR	5'9"	273	OL/DL
49	Chea	Ramonny	SO	5'9"	177	OL/LB
50	Velasquez	Fernando	JR	5'9"	201	OL/LB
51	Sloden	Ryan	SR	5'11"	200	OL/LB
52	Hart	Justin	SR	5'9"	185	OL/LB
53	Cheever	Josh	JR	6'3"	230	OL/DL
55	Nelson	Robbie	SR	5'9"	196	OL/LB
56	Omoregie	Danny	JR	6'	221	OL/DL
57	Ford	Buddy	JR	6'	226	OL/LB
58	Albright	Billy	SR	5'11"	202	OL/DL
60	Maldonado	Victor	SR	5'9"	190	OL/DL
61	Andemicael	Adam	SO	5'9"	200	OL/DL
62	Soto	Edwin	SR	5'10"	200	OL/DL
63	Lopez	Carlos	SR	5'11"	222	OL/DL
65	Armand	Stephan	JR	6'3"	260	OL/DL
70	Kusch	Will	SR	6'3"	300	OL/DL
72	Morfiris	Nick	SR	5'11"	230	OL/DL
73	Flynn	Cody	SO	5'9"	188	OL/LB
74	Bluefort	Winzell	SO	5'11"	244	OL/DL
75	Flores	Louis	SR	5'9"	273	OL/DL
76	Bluefort	Errol	SR	6'2"	180	OL/DL
77	Conlon	Matthew	SO	5'9"	185	OL/DL
79	Ramirez	Carlos	JR	6'	210	OL/DL
82	White	Andrew	JR	6'2"	180	WR/LB
84	Gauthier	Kyle	SO	6'2"	180	WR/LB
86	Pena	Jordan	SO	6'2"	170	WR/LB
88	Archer	Chevere	SR	6'3"	195	WR/LB
89	Grocki	John	SR	6'2"	204	OL/DL
93	Bigwood	Ricky	SR	5'11"	190	OL/DL