By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Staff

WOBURN – No. 7 Swampscott had the ball at the Stoneham 13-yard line with 11 seconds left in the game, trailing by one point.

The Big Blue remained poised and perfectly executed a rollout pass play for the game-winning touchdown from sophomore quarterback John von Barta to senior receiver Jay Domelowicz, stunning the second-seeded Spartans 13-7 to advance to the Division 6 state semifinals.

“I ran a corner route and the safety was playing deep” said Domelowicz. “I cut it off at the front pylon and I saw John rolling out. We made eye contact and he threw a dart right at my chest. I made sure to get both feet down and I was able to hang on.”

Stoneham had one final chance with six seconds left but the kick return went backwards after several laterals ending the game and sending the Swampscott sideline and fans into a frenzy.

Swampscott trailed for only three minutes in the game as the Big Blue defense smothered the potent Stoneham offense.

The Big Blue held Stoneham scoreless for 44-plus minutes.

Stoneham scored its only touchdown of the game with three and a half minutes left in the game. Senior Logan Tran scored on a four-yard rush. Christian Paolini’s extra point put the Spartans in front 7-6.

Swampscott got the ball back on its own side of the field, putting the game – and season – on the shoulders of its young signal-caller.

“Some kids get put in that position and don’t want to be the guy” said Swampscott head coach Peter Bush. “John wants to be the guy. He wants to win. And he wants to win for these seniors.”

Twice it looked like the Big Blue’s season was over, but defensive pass interference penalties on Stoneham extended the drive both times. In total, Stoneham got flagged three times for pass interference on the final series of the game.

“The penalties gave us a second chance to do what we needed to do” said von Barta. “Jay made the play in the end.”

Stoneham runs the double wing offense. The Spartans typically run for well over 200 yards per game and regularly score over 30 points. The Swampscott defense held the Spartans under 200 yards and only seven points.

“It all starts with coaching” said Domelowicz. “Our head coach Peter Bush installed a great gameplan.”

Swampscott struggled on offense throughout the early part of the game. The Big Blue entered the locker room at halftime with only 17 total yards of offense.

The Big Blue executed when it needed to, though, as von Barta made timely plays.

Swampscott scored the game’s first touchdown in the third quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass from von Barta to senior captain Liam Keaney.

“I just had a feeling we’d pull it out” said Bush. “[Stoneham] scored with 3:21 left and I think our offense was just waiting to get going a little bit. They stuck to the gameplan and the offensive staff did a great job. Hats off to the kids. They competed. This was a great game.”

The Big Blue will play defending state champion Fairhaven in the Division 6 state semifinals next weekend at a neutral site. It’s the first state semifinal appearance for Swampscott since 2021, when the Big Blue captured the Division 5 state championship over North Reading.