Festa punt return TD lifts Eastie
Johnson adds two TDs on the ground
John Festa figured he was finished with football three years ago.
After trying out for East Boston’s program as a freshman, he decided to focus on other sports, primarily baseball.
In a strange twist of fate however, the Fall 2 season provided Festa with one final chance to put the pads back on, and he has excelled on the gridiron ever since. The senior broke off a 60yard punt return for a touchdown, while his classmate Aamir Johnson finished with 16 carries for 90 yards and a pair of scores, as East Boston defeated City League rival Brighton, 20-12, at Sartori Stadium on Friday.
“We had been practicing all week,” Johnson said. “I’m going to be honest, the energy was a little off (at first), but once we came in, and I saw how energetic we were, I knew it was going to be a good game.”
In a frigid contest that featured two programs that rely heavily on the run, East Boston (2-0) struck first. Festa corralled the opening kickoff near his own 40, and sprinted free up the sideline before eventually being knocked out of bounds at the Brighton 38. Immediately, the Jets were in business.
Just moments later, Johnson took a handoff, bounced off a few tacklers at the line, then broke off a 17-yard touchdown scamper. With 9:10 to play in the opening quarter, East Boston had a 6-0 advantage.
Brighton (1-1) responded quickly by turning to its two-headed monster in the backfield, leaning on sophomore Isaiah Ford and junior Jathan Greene. With 2:11 to play in the first, Joseph took the ball and scored on a 7-yard run to tie the game at 6-all.
With 7:49 left in the half, Joseph struck again, as he took off for a 20-yard touchdown run to give Brighton its first and only lead of the day at 12-6.
Yet for every key play the Bengals made, East Boston had an answer. On the following drive, the Jets reached the red zone, and like they seemingly did all day, they fed Johnson the ball. The senior bowled into traffic, pulling a crowd with him as he crossed the goal line to tie things at 12 apiece. Johnson found the end zone again on the two-point conversion to put East Boston back in front, 14-12.
Brighton was forced to punt after going three-andout to open the second half. The kick fell short at the Jets’ 40, however, as Festa hauled it in. Instead of making a cut as he had on his first return of the day, the senior just kicked things into high gear, racing in for a touchdown to give the Jets a 20-12 lead.
Joseph led the way for Brighton, finishing with 18 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
“This is spring football,” said East Boston coach John Parziale. “We’ve never had it before. We’re trying to play a lot of seniors, because most of them are never going to play again. We want to try and win the game also, but I’m just glad we’re out here”