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Georgetown blitzed in opener

Saturday, September, 11 By Jeff Hamrick

LYNN — Trying to rebound from a one-win season last year, Georgetown ran into the wrong opponent in its season opener.

Host St. Mary’s needed only 11 plays from scrimmage to open a 30-point lead before cruising to a 42-7 victory last night over the Royals at Manning Bowl.

“It was the first game,” Georgetown coach Matt Bouchard said. “I’ve got a lot of young players that haven’t had the opportunity to compete at this level. St. Mary’s is a good ball club, and they bring a lot back from a 7-4 season last year.”

And the Spartans obviously returned a lot of speed in the backfield. The first-half numbers were staggering:

— They gained 157 yards on a mere seven plays from scrimmage while building a 22-0 first-quarter lead.

— The Spartans, who didn’t attempt a pass in the game, scored on touchdown runs of 43, 67, 36. 59 and 80 yards.

— They gained 328 yards rushing on only 13 first-half carries for an average of 25.3 yards per rush. The Royals, meanwhile, gained 18 yards on 7 carriers for an average of 0.4 the first two quarters.

— The Spartans scored on each of their first five possessions, needing only 12 plays to build a 36-7 lead.

— Running backs Nick Day and Todd Collier combined for 274 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries in the half.

“I was really hoping to see some quality (defensive) line play,” Bouchard said. “I think there were some elements that looked OK, but obviously there are a lot of things to work on defensively.”

The Royals did have opportunities. After St. Mary’s opened an 8-0 lead two plays into the game, Georgetown got a 46-yard kickoff return by Derek Depasquale and six plays later had a 2nd-and-4 at the Spartans’ 14. A couple bad snaps, however, had the Royals running out of downs and turning over the ball at the 17. In the third, Georgetown had a 1st-and-goal at the 8 but could gain only 1 more yard on the ensuing four plays.

“Offensively, there were moments when we managed the game really well,” Bouchard said. “We just couldn’t finish things. We’d get inside the red zone and whether it be a penalty or a fumbled snap, when push came to shove inside the red zone we weren’t finishing.”

Quarterback Tyler Wade, who had a solid 8-for-12 outing resulting in 112 yards, put the Royals on the board with a 31-yard scoring pass to Niko Edwards late in the second quarter.

But holding true to game-long form, St. Mary’s countered the Royals’ touchdown on its next play from scrimmage with an 80-yard run by Collier.