It’s down to four. The St. Mary’s football team fended off a Lynnfield comeback bid to defeat the Pioneers, 20-6, at Manning Field on Friday evening in the Division 6 state tournament.
St. Mary’s running back Derick Coulanges eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in the win, joining David Brown in the category this season. Timely touchdowns and defensive intensity lifted the Spartans to victory in front of their hometown faithful.
The Spartans began a high-tempo first drive. What started out as successful with a Coulanges run for seven yards, followed by a Michael Morgan run for 10 yards, ended in disappointment. Lynnfield’s Arthur Chiaradonna and Robert Marley combined to take down a Spartan on fourth down.
“They have some athletes on the edges, which we knew,” St. Mary’s Head Coach Sean Driscoll said. “They’re studying what we’re doing, and we’re studying what they’re doing, and that’s why it was a good high school football game tonight.”
The Pioneers picked up a first down on a Tyler Adamo dart to one of his favorite receivers, Jack Calichman, for 15 yards. Later on, however, Coulanges raced across the field for St. Mary’s to trip up Marley on third down, resulting in a Lynnfield punt.
In a flash, the Spartans’ Ernie Panias raced through the defensive line and down the left sideline for a 21-yard rush.
It looked like St. Mary’s would find the promised land, but Lynnfield’s James Sharkey had other plans. On a fourth down in the redzone, Sharkey intercepted a mid-range pass from St. Mary’s quarterback Tyler Guy.
On the next play, Jared Bernabei took a handoff for the Pioneers and took it 41 yards to midfield – all in front of the roaring Lynnfield bleachers.
The first quarter ended scoreless with Coulanges being the most active player with eight carries.
Adamo scrambled under pressure on fourth down and threw a dangerous pass that was nearly intercepted by Guy. Nevertheless, St. Mary’s took over after the turnover on downs.
Just like that, the Spartans made the Pioneers pay. Panias rushed for a 75-yard touchdown through the secondary and down the right sideline to put St. Mary’s ahead 7-0 after the extra point. 9:18 remained in the second quarter.
“He [Panias] was incredible tonight,” Driscoll said.
The Pioneers followed with a trick end-around play on the kickoff, but the ball was bobbled and Lynnfield was pinned at its own 10-yard line.
On third down, Adamo was sacked hard by St. Mary’s Jack Marks, forcing another Pioneer punt.
Craziness followed with Guy throwing to Marks in the back of the endzone from 18 yards out. The ball was tipped, but Marks hauled it in and controlled with both feet down. After a missed extra point, the highlight-reel catch put the Spartans ahead 13-0 with 3:14 remaining in the first half.
Calichman almost responded with a highlight of his own, leaping for a catch in the endzone with three Spartans smothering him, but St. Mary’s took a sigh of relief watching the ball dribble off the turf.
On a crucial fourth down in the redzone, Adamo spotted Joey Cucciniello in tight coverage for a 15-yard gain. But plays later, Adamo fumbled behind the line of scrimmage and things were scooped up by the Pioneers just before the half.
The score favored St. Mary’s after two, 13-0. Panias rushed for 125 of the Spartans’ 197 rushing yards in the half.
Lynnfield started hot in the second half with back-to-back Sharkey runs of eight and 17 yards. St. Mary’s Joel Maggs halted the momentum with a ferocious sack on Adamo, and Calichman dropped a fourth down pass that would’ve moved the chains.
On a Guy throw that, for sure, looked like it was being thrown away, Marks tip-toed on the sideline to haul things in for 16 yards. Despite the Spartans punting a few plays later, the drive took a few minutes off the clock.
Lynnfield crossed midfield with Adamo finding Camden Marengi down the left sideline for 26 yards. Marengi took a big hit on the play, holding on to pick up the first down. A north-south run attack brought the Pioneers just yards from the endzone, and the third quarter ended with St. Mary’s holding its 13-0 lead.
Looking for six, Sharkey made it happen. Adamo faked a receiver reverse before handing it to Sharkey who ran through the defensive line and into the endzone. After the missed kick, St. Mary’s led 13-6 with 11:54 remaining in one side’s season.
Coulanges responded, bolting 16 yards close to midfield. On fourth down just outside the redzone, Coulanges looked to be going down before reaching a first down, but he performed a spin move to land across the marker.
On an impressive drive from Coulanges, he squeaked into the endzone on an 8-yard run to give St. Mary’s a commanding 20-6 lead after the kick. The clock showed 6:31 remaining.
“Derick’s [Coulanges] a hard person to tackle when he gets square,” Driscoll said. “He can get going and hit a seam. He’s very athletic, and he’s a smart football player too.”
The Pioneers’ next drive began promising after two St. Mary’s pass interference penalties. Marengi hauled in another tough catch in the middle of the field and Lynnfield found itself inside the 40-yard line. On the next play, Adamo found Cucciniello wide open inside the redzone.
Six yards separated Lynnfield from the endzone. Adamo dropped back, looked left, and threw to the endzone, but the pass was broken up by the Spartans’ Maddox Romero.
The Pioneers played hard, but their season came to an end as the final score read 20-6 in favor of St. Mary’s.
Despite the loss, Lynnfield Head Coach Pat Lamusta said one of his favorite parts of his team is how they can pick themselves up and move forward on a Saturday after a game. Especially with his seniors, Lamusta said he’ll never forget the team’s “brotherhood” and “family concept.”
“That’s how they are. That’s the type of football we have,” Lamusta said. “They’ve been so locked in, so committed.”
St. Mary’s advances to the Final Four of the tournament, and the Pioneers prepare for their Thanksgiving Day matchup against North Reading.
