The Viking Express
Winthrop beats Lynn Classical, 28-14, will play for NEC title on Friday
By Jim Lederman
The Vikings defeated Lynn Classical 28–14 Friday night at Manning Field in Lynn. Danvers shut out Salem 33–0, to set up the championship game.
“Every year our goal is to win the NEC Championship, Friday night we can accomplish that goal. The leadership from our five captains (Sean Gillis, Zach Deeb, Chris Beaudry, Tyler Gillis and Dylan Driscoll) and Seniors Jake Chiudina, Alex Anzuoni, David Kirby, James Griffin and Brady McGrath has been exceptional” praised Coach Sean Driscoll. “If we win Friday night we finish first in our division and we would host to two playoff games”.
The Vikings and Lynn Classical Rams battled through a scoreless first quarter. The Vikings were stopped twice inside the 10 – yard line by a tenacious Classical defense. Zach Deeb picked off a Classical pass with five minutes remaining in the first quarter in the Winthrop end zone.
Dylan Driscoll scored the first Vikings touchdown on a 5 – yard run with 1: 12 left in the second quarter. Jake Chiudina’s extra point was blocked. Zach had another key interception with 35 seconds left in the second quarter at the Vikings 7 – yard line.
The second half kickoff return by Reise Turransky was a spark the Vikings needed. The speedy Junior standout ” took it to the house ” on a 86 – yard TD. Dylan pass to Reise for the 2- point conversion, 14–0 Vikings at the end of the third quarter.
The Rams answered on a long drive capped off by a 20 – yard touchdown from Micah Dublin (24 for 156 yards) a two point conversion cut the Vikings lead to 14–8.
That Vikings score the next two touchdowns, to increase their lead to 28–8. Super sophomore Jon Gonzales finished a 46 – yard, 11 – play drive, rushing for a 2 yard score.
Sophomore Chris Zuffante intercepted a Matt Lauria aerial at midfield. On the next play, Dylan Driscoll scored the final Viking touchdown on a scintillating 42 – yard run, final score Winthrop 28 Lynn Classical 14.
Vikings Notebook
Reise Turransky has scored 8 touchdowns, 3 extra points – 54 points. Jake Chiudina has scored six touchdowns. 15 extra points – 51 points, Dylan Driscoll has scored 7 touchdowns and 2 extra points – 46 points. Dylan has completed (31 for 63, 650 yards and 7 touchdowns) Reise has rushed for 535 yards.
Tyler Gillis and Zach Deeb had key fumble recoveries in the Classical game.
Sean Gillis leads to the defense with 53 tackles, 16 for a loss and three sacks. Alex Anzuoni has 42 tackles, Chris Beaudry has 40 tackles and Tyler Gillis has 36 tackles. Junior tackle Jeff Colignon has 20 tackles. Defense wins championships!
The Winthrop Vikings (6–0, 4-0) and Danvers Falcons ( 3–3, 3-1) will play Friday 7 PM at Dr. Deering Stadium in Danvers for the NEC South Title.
Let’s have a big crowd in Danvers to cheer for the Vikings in their quest for the NEC Title!
WHS SPORTS ROUNDUP
WHS volleyball team qualifies for state tourney
The Winthrop High volleyball team, which is in only its second year as a varsity sport, achieved a major milestone this past week when the Lady Vikigs earned a pair of wins over Swampscott and St. Mary’s of Lynn, the latter victory qualifying the Winthrop girls for the post-season MIAA state tourrnament.
The Lady Vikings previously had dropped their initial meeting with St. Mary’s, the only Division 3 school on their schedule this season, and thus needed a win in their rematch last Friday in order to attain a .500 record against opponents in their own division and thus qualify for the tourney.
The Winthrop girls put together what can only be described as the clutchest and gutsiest win in the program’s brief history, winning all three sets by the narrowest of margins, 27-25, 27-25, and 25-23, to claim the huge victory.
Lady Viking Nina Bartlette was immense, accounting for nine kills, three blocks, and three aces. Haley Holden was a major force at the net and on defense with five kills and six digs, while freshman setter Lacey Scott contributed nine digs and handed out 20 assists.
Two days earlier, the Lady Vikings pulled out a 3-2 win over Swampscott, 17-25, 25-22, 25-17, 24-26, and 15-9, an epic battle that tested the Winthrop girls’ mettle to the max.
Statistical leaders for Winthrop were Bartlette with an immense performance at the net in which Nina smacked 10 kills and made six blocks; Scott with six service aces, eight digs, and 24 assists; Allie Love and Holden with seven digs each; and Abbie Love with four aces.
Although the Lady Vikings punched their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney thanks to the St. Mary’s triumph, the win over Swampscott put the Winthrop squad in position to qualify for the tourney with an overall .500 record (they now stand at 7-7), which is quite an achievement for coach Christy Scott’s squad.
Scott’s crew took on Danvers Tuesday and will conclude their season tonight (Thursday) at Saugus, a team Winthrop defeated 3-1 in their first meeting. A split of those contests will give the Lady Vikings an overall record of 8-8.
Girls soccer team
ties Gloucester, 0-0
The Winthrop High girls soccer team battled to a nil-nil standoff with Gloucester Tuesday evening in a contest played under the lights at Miller Field that was highlighted by traditional Senior Night festivities at which seniors Amy Sena, Poli Tsiotos, Nikki Tsiotos, Maura Lanza, and Marina Huechunir were honored for their contributions to the WHS girls soccer program.
“We had a lot of chances, but couldn’t put one away,” said WHS head coach Tracey Martucci. “Gloucester had the better of the play in the first half, but we did in the second half, so it was an evenly-matched game. Our keeper, Poli Tsiotos, once again played an outstanding game for us.”
In a battle last week with perennial Northeastern Conference power Danvers, the Lady Vikings came out on the short end of a 5-1 decision. Winthrop was missing four starters and had only two substitutes, but managed to keep matters close at 2-1 at the intermission. Sophomore Courtney McSwiney reached the back of the Danvers net to record the Winthrop goal.
 “I brought Courtney up from JV and she stepped up and played great,” noted Martucci. “But having four starters out and a short bench makes it tough to hang In there with Danvers.”
The Lady Vikings, who now stand at 4-9-2 on the season, play at Saugus today (Thursday), at St. Joseph’s Prep tomorrow, and at Mystic Valley Tuesday in the season final. A victory in either of the two latter games, which are against opponents in Winthrop’s own division, will qualify the Lady Vikings for the post-season state tournament in Division 4.
Golfers wrap up season
in state tournament;
Wallace 4th in NEC
The Winthrop High golf team concluded its season with an appearance in the Division 3 North Sectional of the MIAA state tournament Monday morning at the Hillview Golf Course in North Reading.
The Vikings placed 12th in the field of 16 schools with a score of 330. Each school sent six golfers to the tournament with the top four scorers (18 holes, stroke play) counting toward the team’s total.
Senior captain Mike Rich and sophomore Jack Wallace paced the Vikings with rounds of 81 and teammates Cody Boudrow and Harry Floyd both shot 84s. Brandon MacDonald shot a 90 and cousin Sean shot a 94.
The three schools who qualified for the state finals were Weston with a score of 297, Austin Prep with a 306, and Amesbury with a 308. The best round of the day was a 69.
In last Thursday’s annual Northeastern Conference Open, to which each school sends its top two golfers, Viking Jack Wallace tied for fourth place in the field, just one stroke off the winning pace which featured three golfers tied for first. They eventually played a one round playoff in which Sarah Daley of Beverly became the first girl to win an NEC title. She bogeyed the playoff hole, with her two rivals shooting double-bogeys. Mike Rich also represented Winthrop at the open.
Rain had forced the entire field to play nine holes instead of the scheduled 18 holes.