Argyropoulos leads Stoneham
STONEHAM — In a matchup of undefeated Middlesex League foes, Stoneham proved to be the true league power last night, defeating Burlington, 44-14.
Senior running back Christos Argyropoulos led the Stoneham rushing attack again, racking up 220 of his team’s 460 rushing yards and four scores on 25 carries.
“He’s worked really hard. That kid is in the weight room all year long working at his craft,” said Stoneham coach Bob Almeida. “The kid has earned it. He’s a great player and I’m really glad he plays for us.”
Stoneham (3-0) seized the lead on the game’s opening drive. Back-to-back Argyropoulos runs went for 13 and 11 yards, followed by a Deshaun Chase run for 10 more. Three plays later, Argyropoulos punched in the game’s first score on a 7-yard run to cap a six-play, 49-yard drive.
Argyropoulos found the end zone again with a 1-yard run on the Spartans’ following drive, which required another 10 plays to move 44 yards. The touchdown ended a lopsided first quarter with the Spartans having run 16 plays, all on the ground, for 93 yards to Burlington’s six plays for minus-6 yards.
After another Stoneham touchdown to start the second, Burlington (2-1) finally got on the board thanks to a 98-yard touchdown reception from Ryan O’Halloran. With the ball at the Burlington 2-yard line, the Stoneham defense sent the blitz looking for a safety and the junior receiver managed to break away from single coverage for the Red Devils’ first score.
Opening the third quarter, Burlington needed just 1:15 to find the end zone again, as Pena launched a 55-yard pass to Jake McCauley to cut the lead to 22-14.
The Spartans snuffed out any comeback, however, once again turning to Argyropoulos, who punched in another touchdown on his sixth carry of the drive.
On the ensuing Burlington possession, Stoneham forced a turnover on downs, leading to a Seth Russell 10yard touchdown run to put the contest out of reach at 38-14.
“I’m happy with the way our defense played,” said Almeida, “I’m not happy with the fact that we got beat on a couple big plays, but (Burlington) is gonna do that to you.”