By Joyce Erekson
The St. Mary’s football team sent its seniors out in style at its banquet held last Thursday at Spinelli’s in Lynnfield.
The team celebrated another successful season that saw the Spartans reach the Division 7 state semifinal before losing to a tough Mashpee team. St. Mary’s finished with an 11-1 record.
“The banquet is mostly about the seniors,” coach Matt Durgin said. “The four years these kids have been here they’ve won 37 football games, three North titles, gone to the Eastern Mass final and the Super Bowl. This is just a really, especially talented group and the underclassmen were very good right behind them. It was just a really fun year,” he said.
Calvin Johnson, who switched from running back to quarterback as a senior and didn’t miss a beat, took home the Spartan Award. Johnson racked up a lofty 1,781 yards combined rushing and passing. He ran for 25 touchdowns and four conversions and threw for 12 touchdowns and nine conversions. He was also impressive on defense.
James Brumfield and Patrick Henry were named co-Top Offensive Players. Henry scored three touchdowns and conversions with 12 receptions overall for 278 yards. He was tough on defense with 39 tackles (10 solo), six sacks and two forced fumbles. Brumfield was also impressive. He ran for more than 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had five conversions and caught three passes for touchdowns.
Also taking home some hardware were Nino Echevarria, Unsung Player; Duy Tran and Thomas Afflitto, Most Dedicated; D. J. DiCenso, Father John Dillon Award; Kyle Bernardini, Arthur McManus Award; Bobby Reynolds, John Miller Award; Mathias Haley and George Freeman, Rookie of the Year; Josh Mateo and Aaron Burris, Special Teams; Connor Donahue, 12th Player Award, and Matt Tansey, Scout Team.
Sophomore Zachary Cummings was also honored at the banquet, although he wasn’t able to attend. The sophomore has been battling cancer, but still managed to support the team in every way he could. Cummings received the Team Spirit Award and the sophomore Student-Athlete Award. Sal Afflitto (freshman), Bobby Reynolds (junior) and Matt Tansey (senior) also received Student-Athlete awards.
Several junior varsity and freshmen were also recognized for their contributions.. Mark Niboh received the Top Offensive Player Award and Derek O’Leary, the Top Defensive Player Award for the junior varsity. Terrance Valentine was named Top Lineman and Alec Colacitti took home the Coach’s Award.
Affilitto was named Top Offensive Player for the freshmen; Tyler Furlong, Top Lineman and Mark Davision, received the Coach’s Award.