LYNN — It was anything but perfect for St. Mary’s at times on Friday night at Manning Field but the result was one coach Sean Driscoll could smile about.
The Spartans survived three turnovers thanks to a suffocating defense and three touchdowns from Tyler Guy during a 38-12 win over previously unbeaten Cathedral.
“Our defense played really well. They were just relentless. That’s a good team over there and we were able to take away some of their best players,” Driscoll said.
The St. Mary’s (4-0) defense produced a bevy of big plays. Jake Driscoll had a pick six on the second play of the game and they recorded a safety later in the first quarter as the Spartans assumed control from the get-go.
“That pick six just set the tone. It was a huge help,” Driscoll said.
Quarterback Yoniel Belliard scored on a four-yard keeper that was part of a 16-point first quarter for St. Mary’s.
Cathedral (3-1) cut the gap to 16-6 early in the second quarter when Xavier Roman hit Anthony Garcia for a 26-yard touchdown on a fourth and 10.
The Spartans needed just under four minutes to restore a three-score lead. Guy was in the right place at the right time to grab a Max Parent fumble out of midair at the goal line to make it 24-6 at the break.
“You’d think that having a 24-6 lead at the half, the coach would be happy,” said Driscoll. “But we had too many balls on the ground and too many penalties.”
The Spartans got the ball to begin the third period and delivered a knockout punch via a 10-play, 67-yard drive. Belliard capped the march with a nine-yard pass to Guy that upped the lead to 32-6.
Another Belliard to Guy aerial, this one for 22 yards on the final play of the third quarter made it 38-6 and invoked running time for the fourth quarter.
“Tyler played unbelievable. It was nice that we were able to hit on a couple of nice passes there,” Driscoll said.
Belliard finished 6-of-9 for 63 yards and the two touchdowns. Dimitri Koutsoflakis added 57 yards rushing and a pair of two-point conversions.
