By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Staff
BRAINTREE – Archbishop Williams has rolled all season long.
The Bishops entered Friday night’s contest 8-0 and averaging a shade under 35 points per game. Only once in the regular season did the Bishops win a game by fewer than two scores.
In the first round of the Division 5 state tournament, Archbishop Williams showed its grit and ability to win a different way. After allowing the first touchdown, the Bishops rallied and held Swampscott scoreless over the final 31-plus minutes to win 14-7 in a defensive struggle.
“The defense has been playing great lately” said Archbishop Williams head coach Mark Landolfi. “They don’t quit. They study film nonstop. They work hard in practice.”
Eighth-grade phenom quarterback Hudson Garrity and classmate Ethan O’Connell have garnered many of the headlines throughout the season, but the defense rose to the occasion to send the Bishops to Hanover for a state quarterfinal game.
Junior Blake Nelson and freshman David Santiago were the stand-out performers for the stout Bishop defense.
With two minutes and 45 seconds to go in the game, Garrity fumbled at the Big Blue two. Rather than nursing a two-score lead, the Bishops defense took the field needing to make a stand to keep their season alive.
Swampscott got a quick first down. Then, the Bishops settled in. Facing a fourth down and one yard to go, Santiago shed a Swampscott blocker and stood running back Will Bush up in the backfield to force a turnover on downs and preserve the win.
The Bishop defense came through with clutch plays throughout. Early in the second quarter, Swampscott (6-3) had the ball inside the Archbishop Williams 10 yard line.
Nelson beat his man and sacked Swampscott quarterback John Von Barta jarring the ball loose. Santiago hopped on the loose ball to thwart the Big Blue scoring chance and keep the game scoreless.
“It’s just about getting ready for the opponent every week” said Nelson. “I wasn’t gonna let us lose tonight. I knew it wasn’t gonna happen.”
On the next offensive series for Swampscott, Von Barta connected with Bush on a screen pass for a 55-yard touchdown to put the Big Blue up 7-0.
The deficit was short-lived for the Bishops. On the next possession, Garrity improvised on third down and connected with sophomore receiver Jadon Beatty for a 64-yard touchdown. Garrity then hit Nelson on the two-point attempt to put the Bishops ahead for good, 8-7.
In the third quarter, Swampscott picked up 60 yards on a screen pass from Von Barta to Noah Bascon. A Swampscott player was called for a taunting penalty, so instead of having the ball at the Archbishop Williams five, the Big Blue were at the 20.
The Big Blue was sacked twice and threw two incompletions after the penalty leading to a turnover on downs.
Nelson and junior Zay Whigham had the sacks for the Bishops.
Eight seconds into the fourth quarter, Garrity kept his legs churning and scored on an eight-yard run to extend the lead to 14-7.
“We were doing a good job running between the tackles, so we took advantage of that” said Garrity.
Sophomore running back Syer Copeland used hard-nosed running to keep the clock ticking in the fourth quarter.
For Archbishop Williams, Hanover is next up on its quest for an unbeaten season. The game carries a little extra weight as Landolfi and his brother, Archbishop Williams assistant coach Chris Landolfi, were on the staff at Hanover prior to coming over to Archbishop Williams.
Mark was an assistant under Chris for the Hawks.
“[The Hanover] coaches are friends of ours” said Mark Landolfi. “We all started together and a lot of those guys played for us.”
“It was hard to leave Hanover but Archie’s has been great. To be able to do this, it means a lot. Unfortunately, we have to go to Hanover. They’re very good. They’re friends. My daughter is a cheerleader on the team, so it’s not easy. I wish it was somebody else, but we’ll go down to Hanover and do our best.”
Both Mark (1986) and Chris Landolfi (1988) graduated from Archbishop Williams.
