SWAMPSCOTT — Simply put, football games come down to deciding moments. Such was the case Friday night as St. Mary’s and Swampscott squared off at Blocksidge Field in a tough, defensive battle. In the end, St. Mary’s pulled through, 13-12.

Both defenses were ready to play. Swampscott stopped St. Mary’s twice inside the 5-yard line on two separate occasions and the Spartans recorded four takeaways (3 interceptions, fumble recovery).

“Our resilience showed on defense. Against a high-powered offense like Swampscott, we had three picks and one fumble recovery. We should win a game by more than just one point,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll. “Our problem was that we didn’t finish drives.”

St. Mary’s found the scoreboard first with a 2-yard touchdown run from transfer-student Dimitri Koutsouflakis. However, after the score, St. Mary’s was flagged for its celebration, taking the Spartans out of extra-point range. From the 18-yard line, St. Mary’s failed to convert and settled for 6-0.

Swampscott fired right back with a 61-yard drive, capped by an 18-yard touchdown reception by Joe Marino from John von Barta.

Marino, Swampscott’s kicker, got hurt on the play. Swampscott was forced to go for two as a result, but couldn’t convert (6-6).

The score remained that way through halftime and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter when St. Mary’s got back on the scoreboard.

A trick play saw Rowan Merryman sling the ball to Tyler Guy for a 29-yard reception, giving the Spartans the ball at the 3-yard line. Then, Guy took the snap from the shotgun and ran up the middle to make it 12-6 before a Maxwell Parent extra point made it a seven-point game.

Swampscott, once again, marched down the field with a familiar connection as von Barta found Marino to make it a one-point game. However, a flag was thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct, meaning the Big Blue had to kick a 35-yard PAT, which was missed.

“[Penalties] killed both teams tonight,” Driscoll said.

Despite having the height and distance, Marino’s kick sailed wide, leaving the Big Blue down one with 5:48 remaining in the game.

St. Mary’s started on its own 7-yard line, but gave the ball to standout running back Koutsouflakis who powered the Spartans to first down after first down, eventually running out the clock. He finished with 115 yards rushing on 21 attempts. The running back room ran for more than 230 yards in total.

“We’ve got some playmakers and running backs who can run the ball. DK, Rowan Merryman, Maxwell Parent – you can’t ask for a better situation. We can do a better job managing it. We can change the pace because a lot of them play both ways,” Driscoll said. “The last drive from DK was huge. He’s a very powerful runner. I’m happy for him in his first game here.”

Swampscott looks to rebound against Lynn English next Friday at 7 p.m. while St. Mary’s faces KIPP at 4:30 p.m.