LYNN — The St. Mary’s football team battled hard on both sides of the ball Saturday, holding non-conference opponent Millis scoreless in the second half en route to a 32-12 victory on Senior Day at Manning Field.
Prior to the game, the Spartans honored their group of six seniors — Sal Afflitto, Kevon Dulin, Chris Rincon, Zach Barden, Tony Bello and Christopher Sazo — for their contributions to the program over the years.
But the game was dominated by a junior for St. Mary’s, as quarterback Ali Barry was very impressive in his return to the field after missing last week’s game due to quarantine. Barry rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another, pacing the Spartans’ offense throughout. David Brown Jr. had one touchdown reception in the win.
It was Millis who found its way on the scoreboard first with a touchdown in the opening minutes, but St. Mary’s quickly responded. The Spartans pushed the ball down the field and eventually set up on the one-yard line, getting a touchdown when Barry punched his way through on a quarterback sneak. After Barry hit Derick Coulanges for the successful two-point conversion, St. Mary’s led 8-6.
The score remained there until late in the first half, when the Spartans kept their drive alive on a great connection from Barry to Afflitto on fourth down that got St. Mary’s down to the one-yard line. On the very next play, Barry punched it in again before running in the conversion to take a 16-6 lead.
Millis responded with a quick-strike drive of its own on the ensuing possession, making it 16-12 Spartans going into the halftime break.
But in the second half, it was all Spartans.
Things got going when the St. Mary’s defense got involved, recording a safety to notch two points and get the ball back to the offense. The Spartans capitalized from there, as Barry found Brown on a 38-yard touchdown pass to blow the game open at 25-12 late in the third quarter.
Barry rounded out the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run with just over 10 minutes to play, and the Spartans’ defense held the rest of the way to secure the victory.
St. Mary’s (1-2) hosts Catholic Central League foe Bishop Feehan Friday evening (6) back at Manning Field.