NEWBURYPORT — The Lynn English football team made a successful road trip on Thursday night as they beat the Newburyport Clippers 28-7.
English coach Mackenzie Charles thought the victory was a good team win for the Bulldogs.
“Our guys played hard,” he said before mentioning that his team had allowed less than 20 points in its last four games. “Our defense is coming along. We had a late injury so we had to make some adjustments so I was super proud of the kids and the adjustments we made.”
It was a chilly November night at James T. Stehlin Field and both offenses got off to a cold start as the Bulldogs were forced to punt from their own 47-yard line after starting the opening drive at the 34-yard line. Multiple false-start penalties cost English in its pursuit of a touchdown.
The Clippers started their opening drive with just under nine minutes left in the first quarter. They were also undisciplined and ended up punting with just over six minutes left in the opening quarter.
After a poor punt from Newburyport, the Bulldogs started the ensuing drive from their opponent’s 38-yard line. The offense was once stopped in its tracks as they turned the ball over on downs after senior quarterback Jessie Maggs launched a pass into the endzone that fell incomplete.
Newburyport gained possession on its own 27-yard line with 2:21 left in the opening quarter, but the drive didn’t last long thanks to some impressive defense from the Bulldogs. The Clippers went three and out and were forced to punt as the end of the first quarter neared.
English then started on its own 38-yard line and maintained possession all the way until the ninth minute of the second quarter. The 62-yard drive was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown pass caught by freshman Edwin Castro. The Bulldogs failed to convert on the two-point conversion but had a 6-0 lead that they took into the half.
The second quarter once again showed off the abilities of both defenses. Senior Tommy Em recorded a sack for English on the first play of the ensuing drive for Newburyport after the touchdown. The Clippers once again went three and out, but took back possession with under two minutes left in the half, after forcing Maggs to fumble. While finding success through the air, Newburyport still entered halftime scoreless.
Charles was very proud of the effort put out by his defensive unit on the night.
“Alex Sylla has been playing really well,” said the head coach. “He has to get double-teamed on the edges but he’s playing relentlessly. He didn’t get a sack today but the pressure he put on the quarterback is really changing our defense. Wesley Chandler played well. Tyler Kearns, he was like a late starter and he played really well. A great surprise, a kid who has been coming along the last few weeks is Lionel Rivera. He’s been playing great as an inside linebacker. He’s getting better every single day.”
Newburyport’s offensive struggles continued in the second half. The offense started on their own 37-yard line and quickly went three and out and were forced to punt. Luckily the Clippers’ defense was able to force another turnover as senior Wes Chandler fumbled with nine minutes left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs defense once again stopped Newburyport in its tracks and on the ensuing drive, English found the endzone with Chandler bursting his way into the endzone.
Chandler had a successful night on the ground, leading English in rushing yards (89). He rushed the ball in from two yards out on the following play to convert the two-point conversion and give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead
It took Newburyport until the final quarter to find the end zone as quarterback Peter Sullivan rushed for a 15-yard touchdown. Sullivan converted the point-after attempt to bring the deficit down to a touchdown. The Clippers’ quarterback ended the night with 155 passing yards.
The rest of the fourth quarter belonged to the Bulldogs as sophomore Ernie Panias rushed for two touchdowns and English secured the 28-7 win. Panias finished the game with 67 yards gained on the ground.
Lynn English is now 5-6 this season and will see the field next when it takes on rival Lynn Classical on Thanksgiving morning (10).