It was far from ideal playing conditions when the No. 7 KIPP football team traveled to take on No. 2 Lowell Catholic in a quarterfinal matchup Friday night. After the rain settled, and when the final whistle blew, KIPP was the 21-12 victor.
KIPP Head Coach James Rabbitt was elated at the end of the game.
“This was a great game,” Rabbitt said. “These are two amazing teams that just went through a hard-fought battle. The weather played a big factor, and for us to come out on top against a well-coached Lowell Catholic team says it all. I am so proud of this group.”
KIPP kicked off the scoring midway through the first quarter as Juan Setalsingh hit Vic Mafo on a 60-yard strike, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead. At the beginning of the second quarter, Lowell Catholic answered, but missed the extra point, so KIPP held the lead 7-6 which was the score at the end of the first half. KIPP opened the second half with Setalsingh finding Morenel Castro on a 49-yard touchdown pass, making the score 14-6. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Setalsingh completed his hat trick, as he found Castro again on a 41-yard touchdown pass, which gave them a 21-6 lead. Lowell Catholic did cut the deficit to nine (21-12) with two minutes remaining, but KIPP ran out the clock to secure the win.
“It was great to go up two scores, especially how close this game was throughout,” Rabbitt said. “Our defense was active and aggressive all night, which made a huge difference shutting down an explosive run offense that Lowell Catholic has.”
Leading the way for KIPP was Setalsingh, who finished the game 13-17, 215 passing yards and three touchdowns. Castro caught two of those touchdowns and added 101 receiving yards as well. KIPP will next take on Oxford in the semifinals.
“I do not know a lot about Oxford, but we will start looking at the tape to find out,” Rabbitt said. “I believe they are a dual-threat team offensively and are the No. 3 seed for a reason.”
St. John’s Prep 48, Andover 14
The Eagles wasted no time taking the lead after their defense created an interception – Carson Browne took it 32 yards into the endzone, which gave them a 7-0 lead. On the ensuing St. John’s Prep possession, quarterback Deacon Robillard took it into the endzone from one yard away and extended its lead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, Browne again found the endzone on his second 32-yard run, which put them up 20-0. The next St. John’s Prep possession ended with a touchdown –- this time Cam Lagarssa took it in from three yards away and made the score 28-0. Robillard hit Stephen Patrick on a 40-yard touchdown run to put the Eagles up 34-0. Andover would end the shutout late in the second, which made the score 34-7 St. Johns at the end of the first half. The Eagles put together two more scoring drives in the second half. The first scoring drive was capped off on a 62-yard run by Joenel Aguero, and the second drive saw Robillard score from one yard away. St. John’s Prep is now headed to the Division 1 semifinals.
Peabody 53, Westford 32
The Tanners took a commanding 39-11 lead at the end of the first half and never looked back. Peabody Head Coach Mark Bettencourt was impressed with the focus his team showed.
“We came off the bus dialed in and really knew what we wanted to do once we took the field tonight,” Bettencourt said. “We have an offense that once we get going, we become difficult to stop, and that happened tonight.”
Tanners quarterback Shea Lynch led the way, as he finished the game with seven touchdown passes. Three of those touchdowns went to Colin Ridley, two went to Eli Batista and the other two found Alan Paulino. If Westford was going to pull off a miraculous comeback, that all ended at the beginning of the third quarter when Pelino intercepted Westford and took it back 105 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defense played well tonight, as Westford is a very talented offensive team,” Bettencourt said. “Our defense had three possessions where we stopped Westford’s offense in the red zone, which was the difference in the game.”
Peabody middle linebacker Jimmy Festa had a strong performance, including an interception. The Tanners are now 9-1 and will next take on Saugus on Thanksgiving.
Milton 24, Marblehead 20
The Magicians broke the 0-0 tie on their second drive of the game. Connor Cronin had a 30-yard catch, and Eddie Johns followed with an 8-yard touchdown run and gave them a 7-0 lead. Milton answered on its next drive and evened the game 7-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Magicians’ Cronin came up with a big play again, this time on defense when he intercepted Milton. Marblehead took advantage, as Johns found the endzone for the second time and gave his team the lead, 14-7. On the ensuing Magicians possession, Miles O’Neill connected with Zander Danforth on a 52-yard fade and extended their lead to 20-7. Milton scored a field goal before the end of the half and cut the Marblehead lead 20-10. The Magicians were outscored 14-0 in the second half and couldn’t get their offense going.
FIELD HOCKEY
Sandwich 4, Swampscott 0
The season did not end the way Swampscott Head Coach Courtney Russo was hoping, but she is very proud of what her team accomplished this year.
“We had a great season,” Russo said. “We went out of our way to schedule a difficult non-conference schedule, which really helped. We came out and beat many strong teams, which gave us a lot of confidence throughout the year.”
The score was tied 0-0 late in the first quarter when Sandwich scored off a corner kick with no time remaining on the clock, giving them a 1-0 lead. The Big Blue surrendered a goal in the second quarter and trailed 2-0 at halftime. Swampscott shutout Sandwich in the third quarter, with Big Blue sophomore goalie Cece O’Connor leading the way.
“Cece played great for us today,” Russo said. “She saw her most action in goal today and responded very well.
The senior-captain duo of Brooke Waters and Olivia Baran had solid performances as well.
“It is sad for Brooke and Olivia’s last game of their impressive high school career to end in a loss, but I am so proud of these girls. They will also both be playing in college, which is no surprise, as they are both very talented players.”
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Marblehead won the Division 1C State Divisional Championship in Wrentham. The runners that represented the Magicians were: Ryan Thompson (8th, 16:22); Isaac Gross (9th, 16:24); Harrison Kee (12th, 16:38); David DiCostanzo (20th, 17:05); Ryan Blestowe (27th, 17:12); Errol Apostolopoulos (50th, 17:44) and Gabe Bayramian (73rd, 18:14). This is Marblehead’s first divisional championship since 2015. The Magicians performance was impressive, as they were missing sophomore Will Cerrutti – one of their top runners. Marblehead defeated a strong Oliver Ames team because of their depth. Oliver Ames took the first three places in the race, but Marblehead placed five runners in before its fourth runner placed, which propelled them to win the meet by two points. Thompson, Gross, and Kee all earned medals for the Magicians since finishing in the top 15. Marblehead will travel to Fort Devens next Saturday to compete in the All-State Championship.
OTHER SCORES
Monomoy 2, Lynnfield 0 (field hockey)