Big Blue Beats Winthrop 28-14 by Chris Thomsen

 
By Chris Thomsen

All signs pointed towards a neck-and-neck battle heading into the fourth quarter between the Vikings and the Big Blue on Friday night. Although Swampscott was winning 15-6 late in the third quarter, Winthrop wasn’t going to give up easily.

With 4:04 remaining in the third quarter, Winthrop quarterback Dylan Driscoll ran for two yards to convert on 4th down, bringing his team to the Swampscott 16 yard line. It was the second fourth-down conversion for Winthrop on the drive, and based on the Vikings’ progress, most assumed that Winthrop would eventually score a few plays later.

Two plays later, when the Swampscott defensive line forced a fumble on its own 15-yard-line, the momentum changed hands quickly. And one play later, when senior running back Desmond Wilhelmsen carried the ball 85 yards for a touchdown, the game was sealed.

In a game where both Swampscott’s offense and defense excelled, the Big Blue defeated the Winthrop Vikings, 28-14, in the 100th matchup of the two squads.

“We really needed this win after coming from an 0-2 start,” said Wilhelmsen. “This game was really important.”

Quarterback Brendan McDonald threw for one touchdown and ran for another, while Wilhelmsen rushed for two touchdowns, including his impressive 85-yard dash that broke both the Winthrop defensive line and the game wide open.

“The offensive line did a great job, and Desmond and Brendan did a great job making decisions with the ball,” said a satisfied Coach Steve Dembowski. “When we play the way we can play, it’s good.”

Although Winthrop scored first on a quarterback rush with 1:05 remaining in the first, Swampscott countered immediately with a nine play, 3:30 drive, ending with a McDonald running touchdown.  Jeremy Epstein’s PAT gave the Big Blue a 7-6 advantage. After Epstein’s kick, the Big Blue never lost the lead.

Strong defensive play on both sides prevented another score before halftime, but Swampscott opened strong in the second half.

McDonald’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Kelly with 8:47 remaining in the third capped an impressive drive for the Swampscott offense, in which Swampscott only faced third down once.

Great defensive stops in the second half prevented Winthrop from scoring at Swampscott’s rate. Coach Dembowski, while giving credit to his playmakers, noted the performance of both his offensive and defensive lines in the win. 

“It’s easy to point out the skill kids, but I think our line did a great job tonight, especially Barry Tevrow and Jared Dignan, the guys who came off the bench in the line,” said Dembowski. “Depth is big, especially in the no-huddle, and I thought our conditioning was good.”

Dembowski was also happy to also have players returning from injuries this week.

“We got some guys back this week," Dembowski said. Tyler Scaglione was at center the whole night. He was fantastic. Devin Conroy played some snaps, he just got approved Wednesday. We’re getting stronger, and we just have to continue to improve."

Swampscott’s first win of the season was a great effort, but the Big Blue still have a long way to go.

“I don’t think people understand, I think seven of these kids played [at a varsity level] last year,” said Dembowski. “Every game is experience, every snap is experience. We have things to work on, we have a long way to go.”

Next Saturday, the Big Blue plays Marblehead at Blocksidge Field. Due to the new playoff system, every team must play each team in its conference before the playoffs begin.

The two teams will still play on Thanksgiving at Piper Field in Marblehead.

Stay updated with Patch as game day draws closer for more articles concerning the North Shore’s greatest rivalry.