By Cary Shuman
Jon Cadigan is a scholar on college football history, so it was fitting to see the Winthrop High School football team march down the field to start the second half against Swampscott using something like the “three years and a cloud of dust” philosophy that legendary coach Woody Hayes made famous at The Ohio State University.
With Seth Sacco, Nick Romano, and Sean Dolen leading a potent rushing attack that accounted for close to 275 yards in the game and quarterback Charlie Ferrara piloting, there seemed to be an inevitability that Winthrop would complete its methodical, 10-minute drive with a TD and take the lead over a frustrated Swampscott contingent.
But a costly quarterback sack deep in Swampscott territory set the Winthrop offense back, and Sacco’s amazing individual effort to turn a screen pass into a first down fell just short as Swampscott repelled a Winthrop drive that harkened back to the glory days when Gus Martucci and Company were opening holes for the great Chucky Sullivan.
Indeed, had the Vikings prevailed over one of their truest rivals in the NEC – instead of Swampscott leaving Blocksidge Field with a hard-fought 28-20 victory – Winthrop rooters would no doubt be remembering for a long time Riley Moccio’s John Hannah-caliber block on Nick Romano’s touchdown run for a 13-7 lead at the time, or certainly Seth Sacco’s monstrous two-way performance.
Sacco was immense, scoring on two long touchdown runs and finishing with 183 yards rushing on 12 carries. On defense, the senior captain was the Black Shirt winner with eight tackles and a quarterback sack that caused a fumble.
But it was Swampscott’s Jon Von Barta who claimed Boston Herald “Star of the Week” honors over Sacco as the Big Blue’s talented junior signal caller had three touchdowns passes, finding the seams in the middle of the Winthrop pass defense.
Winthrop seemed poised to take a 13-7 lead into the half on touchdowns by Sacco and Romano, but Swampscott’s Will Bush scored the go-ahead touchdown with six seconds remaining on a run when everyone was expecting a pass.
As the Swampscott cable TV announcer said about the Vikings’ ball-control drive to start the second half, “Winthrop’s all-in but they have to cash out.” Unfortunately, the Vikings were unable to deliver the go-ahead score. Swampscott responded with two fourth-quarter touchdowns before Sacco’s 69-yard blast gave Winthrop a glimmer of hope with 2:50 left in the game.
Winthrop’s onside kick was unsuccessful, and Swampscott picked up two first downs to run out the clock and take the upper hand in the race for the NEC South title.
Cadigan: Swampscott’s late TD was crucial
Winthrop faltered on protecting its lead late in the first half, and it again proved costly.
“The same thing happened against Shawsheen at the end of the half,” said Coach Jon Cadigan. “I wish I had an answer how to stop it and how to be better, but we just have to work on it. You take the lead 13-7, with three minutes left, and you feel pretty good. We had them stalled on third down, but we just didn’t execute.”
Romano, D’Ambrosio recover fumbles
Nick Romano had another huge effort on defense with four tackles, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. Sean Dolen and Desmond Cassidy converged on the Swampscott ballcarrier to force the fumble, and Romano dove for the football near the sidelines for what was a key play at the time.
D’Ambrosio was second on the team with six tackles and recovered a fumble. Mike Ferrara appeared to jar the ball loose, and D’Ambrosio made the big play in a scramble for the football.
Chris Messina had four tackles, two resulting in losses of yardage.
Other thoughts from Coach Cadigan
“Seth [Sacco] had a monster game,” summarized Jon Cadigan. “He averaged more than 15 yards a carry and had those two long touchdowns. Seth can be the home run hitter, Nick is the inside force, and Sean is a more of a slashing-type runner.”
Cadigan felt the Vikings’ lack of applying pressure on the Swampscott quarterback was a factor in the game.
“We didn’t get the pass rush that we thought we would get, so their quarterback had a lot of time to get to his first, second, and third reads,” explained Cadigan. “Our defense couldn’t get off the field on big downs. We had them on a fourth down, and they scored a touchdown. If we tackle the ballcarrier on their second touchdown, there’s no way they get to the line and spike the ball to stop the clock. They took a gamble, and it worked out for them. It’s never a one-play situation, but we had opportunities to make a play on defense, and we didn’t get it done.”
Expounding on the Riley Moccio big-time block on Nick Romano’s short TD run, Cadigan offered, “It’s just an outstanding block. Chris Messina blocked down, Seth [Sacco] had a pretty good block on a linebacker. But give Nicky credit, he carried one of their guys into the end zone.”
The Winthrop offense has played very well in the last three games against Danvers, Saugus and Swampscott, scoring 81 points.
“In the last three games, we’ve only punted two times, so our offense is playing well, but we’re not getting the results you want obviously,” said Cadigan.
Senior Night is Friday
The Vikings will celebrate Senior Night Friday at Miller Field at the Coach Bob DeFelice Stadium.
The ceremony will be held before the Salem-Winthrop game.
“We’re in playoff mode,” said Cadigan. “I told the team we have to win the next two [Salem and Gloucester] anyway, so we might as well start the playoffs early. I feel if we win the next two, we’ll get in the playoffs.”
And after playing a tough non-league schedule, (Tewksbury and Shawsheen remain undefeated) and giving likely NEC champion Swampscott all it could handle, the Vikings would be primed for a run in the divisional playoffs. A potential “win and qualify” showdown against Gloucester would certainly electrify the fans at Miller Field, should the Vikings defeat the Witches.