RallyNorth.net

WINTHROP | Once again, Swampscott's defense came up big.

And once again, the Big Blue prevailed in a tight ballgame.

On a miserable, rainy night that caused the turf at Miller Field to be turned into a quagmire, visiting Swampscott dug down on the defensive side of the ball and gutted out a 14-12 victory over host Winthrop.

PEABODY | Bishop Fenwick's Bobby Tarr needed only one more yard to surpass 200 yards on the ground for the fourth time in six games this season.

Had he picked up that single yard, the undermanned Crusaders might have shocked Swampscott at Donaldson Field last night.

Bishop Fenwick football coach Dave Woods gets a new appreciation for Bobby Tarr with every game film he watches. In a season of uncertainty, Tarr has been Fenwick's constant.

The Crusaders, who face another major obstacle tomorrow night when they host 4-1 Swampscott, have battled injuries since dropping their first game of the season to Masconomet three weeks ago. At this point, Tarr may not even know the names of some of the players blocking for him, but it hasn't stopped the record-breaking back from piling up yardage in his senior season.

SWAMPSCOTT | After Saturday's clash between the Swampscott and Gloucester football teams, Fishermen head coach Paul Ingram admitted that there is no real way to gameplan for the Big Blue's explosive pass-first offense.

Swampscott High's football team is positioning itself to win the Northeastern Conference South Division title this fall | and the postseason berth that would come with it. Gloucester is trying to do the same thing in the NEC North, but is taking a completely different approach.

SWAMPSCOTT -- The Swampscott High football team is quickly establishing itself as one of the top second half teams on the North Shore. No opponent has scored on the Big Blue after halftime and that trend held Saturday afternoon as quarterback Peter Kinchley accounted for three second half touchdowns to lead his team past Salem, 21-6, at Blocksidge Field.

LYNN | Scoring on the first possession of the second half wasn't necessarily the goal for the Swampscott football team last night.

Even though the Big Blue, known for their proficient spread offense, was trailing by a score, Swampscott was simply hoping to gain a territorial edge and wear down Lynn English at Manning Field.

SWAMPSCOTT | Swampscott's 99th high school football season opened in ulcerated fashion when the resilient Big Big Blue twice repelled major scoring threats by Winchester in the final 89 seconds to hang on for a 14-12 victory when Stephan Khouri blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt to preserve the margin at broiling Blocksidge Field.

Steve Dembowski doesn't like to make excuses.

His Swampscott High football team had just seven seniors who received serious playing time last season, so he was forced to use more juniors and sophomores than he would've liked. The Big Blue finished an uncharacteristic 5-6.