Big Blue Football Wallops the Bulldogs

The offensive juggernaut that is took longer than usual to get cranking Saturday afternoon, but once it did, Lynn English stood no chance against QB Mike Walsh and his talented runners and receivers.

remained unbeaten with a 33-19 win Saturday as five different players found the end zone for coach Steve Dembowski’s crew. The defense wasn’t too shabby either, forcing seven Lynn English turnovers.

“You can’t turn the ball over once against that team let alone seven times,” Lynn English coach Peter Holey said. “Swampscott did a lot to disrupt our rhythm today, but we did a lot to disrupt our rhythm too.”

Swampscott has scored over 30 points in three of their first four games this season, outscoring Lynn English, and 128-46, on the way to sitting with a 4-0 record and a non-league match-up Thursday night at home against Triton.

It will be a first on Thursday, night football in Swampscott, as the Cape Ann League Vikings head down the highway to take on the Blue.

“It’s going to be great, it’s the first night game in Swampscott and it’s going to be exciting to play under the lights,” Big Blue announcer Roger Volk said before the start of the Lynn English game.

Swampscott scored first, Evan Rhodes blasted in from the eight with 3:26 left in the first quarter. Looking to go up 8-0 with a two-point conversion, Walsh lost the ball and Malcolm Brown-Simpson grabbed it and took it the length of the field for two Bulldog points.

“Rhodes is a monster, what more can I say,” head coach Steve Dembowski said. “He’s got great legs and gets us big yards.”

Lynn English made it 6-5 on a 26-yard field goal by Chris Lessard and Swampscott was up by one at the end of one quarter.

After a nice stand on defense led by Robert Serino, Spencer Webber and Mark Lausier, Swampscott got the ball back and A. J. Baker hooked up with Walsh for a score with 6:07 left in the second quarter.

“If I get open, I know Mike’s going to find me,” Baker said. “He throws a good ball and all I have to do is beat my man and I know he’ll hit me.”

Swampscott’s defense made Bulldog QB Jermaine Kelley miserable most of the afternoon Saturday, Zack Kalapinski, Toby Hale, Aidan Brawley, Patrick Sheehan and Joe DeSalvo were in the seniors’ face all game, with a hard rush.

Kelley lost the starting job to Walsh last season and moved on to Lynn English, and he did not have a happy return to Blocksidge Field.

“Our receivers were great all game,” Walsh said. “They do the work, they get open and we score, we’ve got a great team.”

“When the defense is putting so much pressure on the other team, we know we’re going to get the ball and we’re confident we’re going to get points,” Walsh said.

Lynn English tied the score 12-12 early in the second half, when Walsh was picked off by Brown-Simpson. The senior took it in for six, and the PAT tied it up with 10:19 to go in the third quarter.

That was where the drama ended, the Big Blue ratcheted up the offense and the Bulldogs began coughing up the football on every possession. Swampscott went up 33-12 with 8:03 left in the game, sealing the deal when Walsh found senior Aidan Lang for an eight-yard touchdown pass. Walsh ran in the two-point conversion to put Swampscott up by 19 points, cracking 30 points for the third time in four games.

Walsh helped his own cause with a nine-yard TD run to make it 19-12, and co-captain Richard Sullivan hauled in a 30 yard touchdown pass from Walsh to make it 25-12 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.

Kelley got on the board for Lynn English when he scooted in from the two with just over five minutes left in the game, making the final score 33-19.

“We’re a team, not a couple of guys,” Walsh said. “I need my line to play well, I need to play well, and I need the defense to play well for us to win.”

“They did a nice job on defense,” Bulldog coach Peter Holey said. “Swampscott is not the team you can make mistakes against, they have too many guys who can score.”

“There are a lot of playmakers on this team, and we need a group effort to be successful,” Dembowski said. “We’ve got guys that battle out there and support each other and that’s all that you can ask for as a coach.”

Night football arrives in Swampscott this Thursday night at 7 p.m. when Triton comes to town. The Vikings arrive with a 3-1 record, with wins over Ipswich, Haverhill and Masconomet. Unbeaten Hamilton-Wenham defeated Triton 14-8 in their second game of the year.

“We’ve got experience at quarterback, senior Blaise Whitmore is leading the offense,” Triton coach Pat Sheehan said. “We know enough about Swampscott that you’ve got to slow down (Mike) Walsh and keep an eye on his receivers, (A. J.) Baker and (Richard) Sullivan.”