By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Correspondent

The old football adage “defense wins championships” was on full display Friday night in Scituate.

With Plymouth South clinging to a seven point lead, Scituate possessed the ball deep inside their own territory. Facing a third and long, quarterback Jackson Belsan dropped back to pass and was intercepted by linebacker Gavin Schultz to seal a 28-21 Plymouth South win and a Patriot League championship along with it.

“I saw (Belsan) rolling out, d-line did a great getting pressure. (Belsan) kept going back and forth and I just saw a window and stepped in and got the pick” said Schultz after the game.

Plymouth South (8-0, 5-0) got off to a fast start needing only four plays to cover 87 yards and score the game’s first points.

The key play on the drive was an explosive 50 yard carry by star running back Casious Johnson. Quarterback Cole Brunstrom connected with his favorite target, wide receiver Jamie Andrews two plays later for a 39 yard touchdown.

Plymouth South coach Darren Fruzzetti said after the game that Brunstrom and Andrews are “best friends” and that leads to their on-field chemistry.

Scituate (3-4, 3-2) responded early in the second quarter on a 6 yard touchdown run by senior running Colin Morley. The teams would exchange touchdowns again before halftime. Plymouth South once again relied on the Brunstrom to Andrews connection while Scituate was able to score just before the intermission on a pass from Belsan to Lawson Foley.

Johnson appeared to get stronger as the game went on as he scored twice in the second half. The second score was on a toss play to the left where it looked like there was minimal room but Johnson cut back toward the middle of the field and broke multiple tackles on his way to the endzone.

“These kids have been working a long time for this” said Fruzzetti. “We have 19 seniors. It’s such a close-knit group. I’m just so proud of the way they played.”

Jackson Elliott had a monster game for the Panthers from his linebacker spot including a gigantic hit on a quarterback sack in the second half.

“We’ve had a few (close games). It feels like we’ve had a couple goal line stands and now this” said Fruzzetti. “When you get to the playoffs, everybody is gonna be on their A-game. You’re gonna be in tight games.”