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Second half strength powers Swampscott football

Saturday, September, 29 By Matt Williams
Staff writer

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.

Trailing 6-0, Kinchley needed just five snaps on the first series after the break to connect with Stephen Moran for a 50-yard scoring strike. It was a short screen which Moran cut up the middle to outrace the Witches defense to the end zone and put the Big Blue on top for good, 7-6.

"I tell my guys all the time that that's the biggest drive of the game, the first of the second half. It doesn't matter if you're on offense or defense, that's the momentum turner," said Salem coach Scott Connolly, who's Witches lost for the second straight week and fell to 2-2.

The Big Blue defense was at swarm level from there. Led by Ilya Levin and Brian Palangi, Swampscott smothered Salem running back Melikke Van Alstyne, holding the explosive runner to 49 yards by taking away the outside.

"The defense, in all four games now, has held the opponent scoreless in the second half," said Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski, who's Big Blue remained unbeaten at 4-0. "We made a few adjustments but most of it was just keeping our composure, running to the football and gang tackling."

The Witches managed just two first downs in the second half and ran only 17 plays compared to 34 for Swampscott.

"We knew we had to keep their offense off the field as much as we could, but they won the field position and time of possession battles," Connolly said.

That allowed the Big Blue to control the pace in the second half, as Kinchley added a pair of fourth quarter rushing TDs to put the game out of reach. The senior signal caller scampered in from 10 yards out with 4:50 remaining and again from one yard away with under a minute to play.

Kinchley (11-25, 198 yards) threw for 133 yards in the second half and was generous with the ball, connecting with eight different receivers throughout the afternoon.

"We like that," Dembowski said. "We don't have a go-to guy so we have to spread it around. That makes us a better team and makes things harder for our opponents."

Earlier, the Witches had gone on top on Van Alstyne's 6-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining in the first half. The drive was keyed by the speedy junior's 20-yard gain on the previous play -- his longest of the afternoon. Salem's best chance at points in the second half came as they advanced to the Swampscott 38 on its first series, but Moran made the first of two interceptions to kill the drive.

Salem held the explosive Big Blue offense in check throughout the first half, holding them scoreless and to just 65 yards through the air.

"Our defense stepped up," Connolly said. "Especially in the first half, they played very well."

Swampscott remained out of sync until Salem got on the board. Trevor Wheeler made a juggling catch at the sideline for a 27-yard pick-up to give Matt Barbuzzi a shot at a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

Although he missed it, the play seemed to spark the Big Blue offense, which hit its stride in the second half.

"We're still working on the system and there's still some inconsistency," Dembowski said. "We're not all on the same page yet. We had an up and down week of practice and we played an up and down game."