Warriors rush to easy judgment

MELROSE — Senior quarterback Braden O’Connell ran for 103 yards with a touchdown as Lincoln-Sudbury scored four more times on the ground to pound Melrose, 35-13, last night in a interdivisional clash of 2017 Super Bowl entrants.

Kyle Smith had 66 rushing yards with a score and fellow running back James Dillon added 42 rushing yards with a pair of touchdowns as the Warriors (2- 0), last year’s Div.2 runners-up, dominated the reigning Div. 4 champions.

“We have some good weapons,” said L-S coach Tom Lopez on the nonleague win. “Braden made a lot of really good decisions. It’s unfortunate, he’s a great passer, we just haven’t had to pass in the last two games.”

The Warriors opened the game with a 13-play scoring drive that covered 56 yards, draining almost eight minutes off the clock. An O’Connell scramble kept the drive alive on fourth-and-8 on the Melrose half of the field. Dillon finished the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run.

O’Connell doubled the L-S lead with an electric 64-yard jaunt on the first play of the Warriors’ second drive. The Warriors repeated this sequence with defensive stop against Melrose (1-1) followed by a one-play touchdown drive, this time a 57yard sprint by Smith.

In the third quarter, Milind Lele etched his name on the scoresheet with a 40-yard touchdown, pushing the L-S lead to 35-0 and continuing its domination in the run game.

Behind a mammoth offensive line, the Warriors had 266 rushing yards with a mere 22 passing yards.

“Melrose is awesome up front,” said O’Connell, “It gives us confidence going forward that this is one of the best defensive lines in the state and we can really roll with anyone.”

Melrose gained a pair of late scores on Kevin Peete’s 75-yard punt return to end the shutout, and Jake Rowe’s 2-yard touchdown run in the final minutes.