The Classical boys soccer team continued to climb its way up the ladder in the Northeastern Conference Saturday with a 3-0 shutout win over Swampscott at Manning Field.
Goalie Isiah Diaz recorded four saves.
Jenner Robles, Alex Ixlaj and Fernando Gomez each scored one goal. Ixlaj and Jair Alvarez dished one assist each.
The Rams (8-2) visit Gloucester Wednesday (6:30).
BOYS SOCCER
St. John’s 2, BC High 1
Goals from Greg Puckett and Kuol Majok led the Eagles to a Catholic Conference win on the road. Ethan Ambrosh and Zach Vlachos dished one assist each.
Netminder Joey Waterman recorded seven saves.
St. John’s (7-0-1) travels to Xaverian for another conference clash Wednesday (4).
GIRLS SOCCER
Central Catholic 3, Swampscott 0
Big Blue coach Norman James said the positive takeaway was the team played a better second half in Saturday’s non-conference tilt.
Lilly Raymond and Alice Michigan played well in the loss.
Swampscott, now at 6-3 on the season, travels to English Wednesday (4).
FOOTBALL
Nashoba Valley Tech 43, KIPP Academy 14
Friday night in Nashoba, Daniel Oluwasuyi put the Panthers on the board on a 10-yard run after the Vikings grabbed a 7-0 lead. Freshman Juan Setasing intercepted a pass and returned it 65 yards into the end zone, keeping the Panthers in the game, down 27-14 in the third quarter. But the Vikings pulled away from there and KIPP couldn’t recover.
KIPP cornerback Bhenzel Cadet, a junior, led the defense with seven tackles, one sack and an interception. Oluwasuyi finished the night with 127 rushing yards on 17 carries. Starting quarterback Pierro Canales was sidelined due to injury and Setasing stepped in to lead KIPP’s offense.
“Juan’s just a kid with a lot of poise and he’s growing in confidence,” KIPP coach Jim Rabbitt said. “It’s a hard thing to come into a game at Nashoba Tech, a hostile environment. Juan stepped in and did what he needed to do as far as engineering drives. We’re proud of Juan and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do. We don’t know how long Pierro will be out but we’re confident that we won’t miss too many steps under center.”
The Panthers committed four costly turnovers.
“All their touchdowns were big plays,” Rabbitt said. “That’s something we can learn from. If we execute the game plan, stick to our reads and assignments, we can compete with a team like Nashoba.”
KIPP, now 1-2 on the season, now shifts gears toward preparing for Thursday’s (7) game against Minuteman at Manning Field.
“Minuteman’s where I got my first defensive coordinator job back in 2008,” Rabbitt said. “I know them very well. They have tough kids. We can’t take them lightly. We haven’t had much luck offensively against them so we’re expecting a battle. We have to make sure this is a week where we bounce back. We have to play tough and smart football. That’s what it comes down to.”