Latin Academy sneaks past Eastie
EAST BOSTON — Friday night’s showdown between the top two teams in the Boston City League may have been played next door to Logan Airport, but there wasn’t much air traffic at East Boston Stadium.
Latin Academy and East Boston combined for just 33 yards passing, but Orlando Jusino connected for a critical fourth-quarter score with Brendan Shapiro on fourth-and-goal from the 6 to solidify a 16-6 win for the Dragons, keeping them the last unbeaten team in the BCL at 5-0.
The victory also delivered a bit of payback for Latin Academy as Eastie claimed the North title by beating the Dragons in April during the Fall II season.
“Coming into the summer, this was the game to look out for,” said Latin Academy senior captain Malcolm Chrispin. “We know they are a challenging team, they are really tough kids all around. We were really excited to have a chance to redeem ourselves after a bad showing and I’m really proud of the guys.”
Chrispin grinded his way to 90 yards on 24 carries, scoring the first touchdown of the game from 8 yards out, with Jusino taking it in on the 2-point attempt for an 8-0 lead that turned out to be enough.
Chrispin’s scoring run came from a direct snap, a formation that the Dragons utilized often on the night as they spent the majority of the contest operating without a traditional quarterback.
“We do it about 25% the whole year but we had success with it we thought, and it shortened the game and kept the ball out of their hands,” said Latin Academy coach Rocco Zizza.
The host Jets struggled overall offensively but did manage to put together an 18-play, 82-yard march that chewed up nearly all of the second quarter. Eastie (5-1) converted twice on fourth down during the drive, including rolling the dice on fourth-and-2 from its own 26.
QB Taelor Thompson capped it by sneaking in from a yard away, but a 2-point try was inches short, and Latin Academy maintained an 8-6 lead at halftime.
Eastie had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the third quarter after an interception on the Dragons’ 29, but Latin Academy forced a turnover on downs, part of a second-half effort that held the Jets without a first down.
“That meant the world,” said Chrispin of the stop. “The defense really showed out today, made a lot of good stands, made a lot of great tackles, made a lot of great reads. Honestly, this is more of a defensive win than an offensive win.”
The Dragons put it away in an unexpected manner through the air as Jusino lobbed an alley-oop to a huge target in Shapiro, who went up and grabbed it in the midst of the throng of Jets defenders with 7:32 to play.
Jusino followed up with another completion, hitting Owen O’Neill for a key 2-point conversion out of a timeout after the Dragons initially lined up for an extra point for a 16-6 edge.