LYNN — The St. Mary’s football team closed out its 2021 season on the highest of notes Wednesday evening, rolling to a 42-12 win over Austin Prep in a Thanksgiving Eve game at Manning Field.
With the win, the Spartans captured the Catholic Central League Large Division title for the fourth time in the past nine years.
“I think we came into this game a little mad and we played like it early,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll. “It was tough losing last week, but to come back and play a great game to win our league and raise another banner in the gym, that’s always great no matter what.”
Junior running back David Brown Jr. was the star of the night for the Spartans, exploding for 283 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns — all in the first half. Senior running back Donovan Clark had a big game of his own with 96 rushing yards and a touchdown, while senior quarterback Ali Barry completed 2-of-2 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown.
“David had a great game, Ali ran the offense well and a guy like Donovan stepped up and had a great final game as a senior,” said Driscoll. “Our offense was really clicking for us all night.”
The Spartans started fast and never looked back in this one. After Brown returned the opening kickoff to the midfield stripe, it only took two plays for St. Mary’s to find the end zone. Brown was the man who found it, breaking free for a 49-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage.
St. Mary’s got the ball back a few minutes later and went on an 11-play drive that covered 93 yards. Clark and Brown did most of the heavy lifting, and Brown once again finished things off when he got loose for a 20-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.
The Spartans then forced a turnover on downs, and once again it only took two plays to find the end zone. This time, it was Barry who hit Brown on a long pass for a 48-yard score as time expired in the first quarter.
The second quarter was much of the same, with Barry rushing for a nine-yard touchdown, Brown returning a punt 66 yards for a score and Clark breaking free for a 50-yard touchdown. Austin Prep added a touchdown late in the first half, but at the halftime break St. Mary’s held a commanding 42-6 lead.
There was a running clock for much of the second half, and the only score came late in the game when Austin Prep put one more on the board with less than two minutes to play.
St. Mary’s closes the season at 10-2, and with only five seniors leaving to graduation, the Spartans are aiming to come back for another run in 2022.
“Getting 10 wins in a season for any high school team in Massachusetts is a big deal, so we’re really happy with the way we played this season,” said Driscoll. “I think this gives us some great momentum going into the offseason, and hopefully we can have some great workouts over the winter and summer and come back better than ever.”
