EVERETT — The Lynn Classical football team needed to play nearly perfect football to come away with a win on the road against No. 5 Everett, but in the end the No. 10 Rams simply made too many mistakes to keep it close in a 44-0 loss to the Crimson Tide in a battle of top-10 ranked Division 1 teams Friday night at Everett Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Despite the lopsided scoreboard, Vaughan was proud of the way his team played and the fight they showed in an uphill battle.
“Overall, that’s a really good football team we went up against,” said Classical coach Brian Vaughan. “They’re bigger, stronger and faster than most teams in the state, and they showed it (Friday). It was a tough go for us, but I was proud of the way our guys kept battling.”
Classical quarterback Brian Vaughan Jr. completed 5-of-17 passes for 84 yards, while also adding 22 rushing yards. Receiver Marquese Avery had three receptions for 70 yards, while receiver R.J. Faessler was the team’s top rusher with 42 yards on the ground.
For Everett, receiver Cam Mohamed led the way with 83 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Leading rusher Jayden Clerveaux had 65 yards on the ground, while receiver Syeed Gibbs rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown.
The game got off to an ominous start for the Rams, as they kicked off to Pedro Rodrigues and he turned right around to race for a 70-yard touchdown to open the game. Classical then fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, opening the door for the Crimson Tide to put together a quick-strike drive — capped by a 30-yard touchdown run from Clerveaux. The Rams then got forced into a three-and-out, and Everett put together another lighting-fast drive with a 21-yard score from Mohamed.
In the blink of an eye, Classical was down 20-0.
“The kick return hurt and the turnover was a tough blow,” said Vaughan. “You can’t give a team that good any extra opportunities, and we gave them a bunch.”
Things didn’t get much better from there, as a safety, a 36-yard touchdown connection from quarterback Kamarri Ellerbe to Mohamed, and a 29-yard touchdown run from Gibbs gave the Crimson Tide a 37-0 lead at the halftime break.
Everett added one more score when defensive lineman Jayden Biggi broke through the line, blocked a punt, picked it up and returned it for a touchdown to make it 44-0 and turn on the running clock.
Classical (3-2) will have an extra day of rest before hosting Malden next Saturday (1) at Manning Field.
“Our guys will be back,” said Vaughan. “The key for us is to learn from this, come back with a great week in practice next week and then come to the field ready to play Saturday.”