MALDEN — The old offensive lineman in BC High coach Paul Zukauskas wasn’t happy with how his Eagles ran the rock on Friday night at Brother Gilbert Stadium. What made him smile, however, was the brilliance of quarterback Carter Carroll.
The senior hit 10 of 15 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles bounced Malden Catholic from the unbeaten ranks, 20-7.
“MC did a great job of taking some things away from us. They were physical and tough,” Zukauskas said. “Carter just made some outstanding plays. That was the difference.”
Many of those completions came for huge chunks. Gavin Barth was the ringleader with five catches for 154 yards and a huge touchdown right before halftime that made it a 14-0 game.
“Those two have such a great connection,” Zukauskas said.
Each team had the ball once in the first quarter with BC (4-0) missing a 34-yard field goal and the Lancers (4-1) turning it over on downs.
Following that stop, the Eagle offense put together a remarkable march. They held the ball for over 10 minutes and converted four times on third down, two of them coming on long passes to Barth and Conrad Babka.
The last third down conversion set up a one-yard plunge by Brenden Ryan with :55 left in the half.
Then came a critical turning point. The Eagles used their last timeouts to force MC to punt with :30 left and got the ball just short of midfield.
Carroll went for the jugular and found Barth streaking down the right sideline for a 54-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead in the blink of an eye.
“That end of the half was huge trying to sneak one in,” Zukauskas said. “We were able to stop them and I’m glad we went for it.”
The Lancers needed a boost to begin the second half and got it when Bryce Summers raced 46 yards for a score on the fourth play of the third quarter, cutting the gap to 14-7.
The MC defense then forced a turnover on downs but could not convert it into points as a 36-yard field goal came up short in the final minute of the third.
The Eagles took the ball and put the game away as they found some consistency running for the first time all night. Carroll also produced three critical completions before he capped the 80-yard drive with a two-yard sneak for a 20-7 lead midway through the fourth.
The Lancers had one final chance to make things interesting in the last moments when they reached the BC 24, but four straight incompletions ended things and sealed the win for the Eagles.
