By Joe Kasper
It didn’t take long for the St. Mary’s football team to find the end zone, in their home opener, at Manning Field this past Friday night. The Spartans drove down the field and capped off their first drive with a 33-yard touchdown run by senior running back, James Brumfield. After making the two point conversation the Spartans found themselves on the other side of the ball, but not for long. Saugus quarterback Michael Mabee felt the pressure and tossed up a prayer that was intercepted by Calvin Johnson and ran back for a 77 yard touchdown, giving the Spartans an early 14-0 lead. It wasn’t until the second quarter when the Sachems found the end-zone. The Spartans answered right back on their next possession when Johnson rifled a 60 yard pass to senior Marlon Scott to make the score 40-7. Saugus came back and scored their final touchdown with 2:53 left in the first half making the score 40-14 but once again it was answered with a 63 yard touchdown run by who else, but senior, Calvin Johnson, making the score 48-14. The Spartans put the nail in the coffin in the 4th quarter when junior running back Mark Nibah muscled the ball across the goal line to make the score 54-14. The Sachems didn’t go down without a fight, scoring on their last possession to make the final score 54-21.
When asked about his team’s performance, St. Mary’s Coach Matt Durgin was happy with the way his team played. “Things went our way early and then we started getting other kids in and it was a good opportunity for everyone to play.”
Luckily for the Spartans, they are led by 13 seniors that have done the right thing both on and off the field. Coach Durgin spoke very highly of them. “We have a good group of seniors, good leadership and that’s what you need. It’s the kid’s team and they’ve done a good job at leading during off season workouts and tonight we did well but we do have a lot to improve on.”
The Spartans take on Marian/Keefe Tech Friday at Framingham State University.