LYNN — When Medford found the endzone with 3:12 remaining in Friday night’s game against Lynn Classical, you could say things were just about over at Manning Field.

The Mustangs jumped ahead, 14-12, and the Rams – needing a quick possession – had been struggling with their passing game.

“Being 0-2 and young, sometimes, you could pack it in,” said Classical coach Brian Vaughan.

But junior quarterback Ryan Buth had other plans. He said he told Vaughan, “We’ve got to run this” when talking about his favorite play.

From there, he aired one out to Jabin Pierre down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown with 1:29 to go – perfectly in stride. The final score favored Classical, 18-14.

“He’s always asking to run that play,” Vaughan said. “I thought it was good. That’s to his credit and he’s done an outstanding job. Every day, we ask more out of him and he’s getting more comfortable.”

With just six completions ahead of the game-winner, Buth said he “forgot about everything else.”

“I was zoned in,” Buth said. “He (Pierre) broke it, I pumped and threw it up, then he came down with it.”

Pierre (6 receptions, 80 yards) made no mistaking in hauling it in. From there, he raced past his beaten defensive back for six.

“I knew I had to score,” said Pierre, who has led the Rams in receiving yards the last two weeks. “This was my second time scoring on this type of play. I was just excited to score on it.”

Medford had its chance to steal one on enemy turf, but a fourth-down interception from Classical’s Tyren Hoeun sealed the deal with 39 seconds remaining.

“Them believing in each other – that’s the culture we’re trying to establish here,” Vaughan said.
“It’s not easy doing what they’ve done over the last three weeks.”

Speaking of the last three weeks, Hoeun (110 yards rushing) continued his hot start to the fall. The junior found the endzone on a 12-yard burst, bouncing to his right and breaking a tackle to put the hosts ahead, 12-0, in the third quarter.

“Tyren’s the rock for us,” Vaughan said. “We believe good things will happen the more we get him the ball.”

As for how Medford climbed back into it, look no further than an unlucky bounce for Classical. A tipped pass looked to be falling incomplete, but the ball bounced to Darius Weekes who took it 62 yards to the house.

Mustangs’ quarterback Justin Marino took it himself for 2 yards (14-12) before Classical’s theatrics. But in the end, the Rams kept charging.

“I knew it was a dogfight. When they scored with three minutes left, most teams would just give up,” said Buth, who also rushed for a touchdown and recovered a fumble Friday night. “They scored, but we came back. All we had to do was keep our heads up.”

Other Classical (1-2) highlights included sacks from Issac Bony, Hoeun, and Yonari Hernandez, as well as a tackle behind the line of scrimmage from Echeme Dede.

“We’re playing a lot of freshmen and inexperienced players,” Vaughan said. “Two of our top linemen, we might lose for the year. We’re asking a lot of young guys to step up and they’ve accepted the challenge.”

They’ve got another challenge next Friday as the Peabody Tanners visit Manning Field at 5 p.m.

“All that paying off, it’s a different feeling,” Buth said. “Now, we’ve got to keep working.”