Vikings beat Swampscott 21-10

The Winthrop High football team held a high-powered Swampscott offense to a single touchdown while unleashing its own powerful rushing game to beat the Big Blue 21-10 Saturday afternoon at sun-drenched Blocksidge Field.

Swampscott had scored 34 points last week in the opener, but coach Sean Driscoll’s newly inspired Vikings kept Swampscott off the scoreboard in the second half while Jordan Corbett-Frank and Company continued to eat up large chunks of yardage on the ground.

Corbett-Frank had 12 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown while Bo Diaz helped the cause immensely with 10 rushes for 61 yards. Fullback David Gallo has 12 grind-it-out carries for 34 yards.  Ruben Powell provided another key element of the rushing game and also recovered a fumble when Swampscott erred in punt formation. Jordan Adkins and Reise Turransky also contributed to a deep rushing attack.

“I thought Jordan and Bo were exceptional,” said Driscoll. “[Offensive linemen] Tommy Lund, Luke Hodgkins, and Dan Feeley, and tight end Jake McKinnon really blocked well.”

Sophomore Quarterback Dylan Driscoll made the second start of his varsity career an impressive one. Driscoll was 5-of-6 for 80 yards and threw touchdown passes to David Capone and Ruben Powell.

“Dylan really came along after the first game and played well for a second varsity start,” said Sean Driscoll. “He really took control in the second half.

Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski’s teams have averaged roughly 30 points a game for the last few seasons. But on this day, the Vikings borrowed a page from the Freddy Long-Chris Godfrey era and stopped the Big Blue cold.

“Winthrop does a good job of taking away the big play down the field so you have to hit small chunks and we didn’t hit those today,” said Dembowski. “Winthrop brought a lot of pressure up front. They outcoached us and outplayed us and that’s a credit to them.”

Swampscott struck paydirt first but a Driscoll-to-Capone 13-yard touchdown pass and Eric Castro PAT evened the score.

The Big Blue threatened to notch a second TD but successive big plays by the Winthrop defense held for a field goal.

On a second-and-goal, cornerback Zachary Deeb made a terrific one-on-one tackle at the 4-yard line to prevent Swampscott receiver Josh Rothwell from breaking it into the end zone.

On the next play, senior lineman Dan Feeley knocked down a pass by the Swampscott quarterback, forcing a field goal attempt.

Winthrop took advantage of a Swampscott illegal-substitution penalty to keep its ensuing drive in gear. Capone (15-yard reception), Diaz, Gallo, and Jordan Adkins all set the table with consistent gainers before Driscoll teamed up with Powell for a 15-yard touchdown and a 14-10 lead.

After Powell recovered a fumble on an errant snap in punt formation, the Vikings quickly turned it into six points on a Corbett-Frank three-yard run. Castro converted the PAT for a 21-10 advantage.

McKinnon sealed the victory in the fourth quarter with his second interception of the season.

Winthrop travels to Marblehead Friday night.