East Boston runs wild over O’Bryant

ROXBURY — Establishing the run is a vital part of most winning formulas, but East Boston took it to another level Friday night to put an exclamation point next to its name among Boston City League elites.

Senior Aamir Johnson ran wild for the Jets (3-0) with 212 yards and two scores, including 203 yards in the first half, as part of a 32-6 win over O’Bryant (2-1) in a battle of BCL unbeatens. The senior headlined a fruitful game on the ground across the board, as four different players found pay dirt through excellent blocking up front all game.

That combined with an overpowering defensive effort which limited the Tigers’ speed and forced three turnovers on the day, helping East Boston build a big enough lead to play comfortably once halftime struck.

“I think the kids played well … O’Bryant has a good coaching staff and they got a lot of speed, and we did corral that speed today. I was very worried,” said Jets head coach John Parziale. “Up front, the O-line played well. … I’m glad we got the win for the kids and we’re going to keep on moving one game at a time.”

Johnson got going early and often, using wide-open holes from the line to get through gaps and speed his way to the outside for long runs. His fifth carry on the day was a 37-yard touchdown run to give East Boston an 8-0 lead, helping set up his 106 total yards in the first quarter alone.

As the Jets’ defense rotated players up front to keep them well-rested in order to stymie O’Bryant’s response, it was Jaye Kincade’s (43 yards, TD) turn to score next on an 8-yard bruiser up the middle. Johnson made it 20-0 shortly thereafter, cruising his way to a 66-yard race across the field for a 20-0 lead by the half.

That run alone marked more yards than O’Bryant had as a group by that point (28 yards from scrimmage), with the defense getting through to the backfield quickly and forcing an interception to Christian Feudo.

“Our O-line was blocking great, the holes were there. We got in a really good pace to start the game,” Johnson said. “I’ve been saying this since the beginning of the season, I think we can really take over the city. We’re 3-0, people can clearly see we’re a good team.”

The second half didn’t prove much better for the Tigers, coughing up a fumble before Feudo (44 yards) ran 23 yards untouched for a touchdown and a 26-0 lead. O’Bryant finally got something going once Mohamed Jalloh’s number was called more, with the senior taking a screen pass from Luke Maffeo for a 33-yard touchdown. He finished with 73 total yards.

That’s all the Jets’ defense would allow, though, and Michael O’Neill put a punctuation mark on the dominant team effort with a 2-yard scamper for a TD later on.

Overall, East Boston finished with 333 yards without completing a single pass.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3wc3FiL