EVERETT — Heading into this one, the outside expectation was that it wouldn’t be a contest. 

Despite losing 56-28, St. Mary’s (6-5) football team went toe-to-toe with Everett (9-2) and didn’t quit through four quarters. 

But when you have a Boston College football commit on your team, he can turn the game on its head. That’s exactly what Everett senior Christian Zamor did. 

Zamor, on both sides of the ball, made his presence felt, hauling in two catches for 94 yards in the first half with both going for scores. 

St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll knew Zamor was going to be a headache for his young side, also highlighting defensive lineman MacKenzie Shane as someone who was hard to plan for. 

“[Christian Zamor] is the real deal. MacKenzie Shane, on the defensive line, I didn’t know how we were going to block him all week,” he said. “We tried different schemes in the first half and did OK, but he’s a player and got pissed when we blocked him. He made plays.”

Meanwhile, Everett coach Justin Flores praised his skill players for ending their high school careers in style.

“Zamor had a hell of a game. I gave away my first game ball to him. He played with a little extra passion tonight,” Flores said. “Damien Lackland (165 total yards, 3 TDs) is a special player with a special talent. Jayden Prophete can get open all the time. We’re a deep team and we’re going to reload next year.” 

St. Mary’s scored its second touchdown on a 92-yard kick return touchdown from Devell Pamplin to cut Everett’s lead to 35-13 at halftime. In the second half, St. Mary’s scored on a Rowan Merryman 1-yard touchdown to make it a two-possession game (35-20). 

Driscoll held high praise for his freshman running back. 

“He’s going to be a stud,” Driscoll said. “His grit on both sides of the football – I like the way he plays the game and he’s been getting better each week. He’s someone to watch out for over the next three years.” 

Unfortunately for the Spartans, they couldn’t stop the skill players of the Crimson Tide. On Everett’s next possession, Joao Rodrigues took a pitch 54 yards to the house. 

“They hit us with big plays,” Driscoll said. “We had trouble tackling those guys on the second and third levels, which is frustrating.”

St. Mary’s, which got a lot of help from underclassmen this season, returns a strong team next fall. One returner is sophomore Jim Jennings, who took his chance when his number was called. 

In the fourth quarter, on his first carry of the game, Jennings took the ball 39 yards to make it 42-28 with 11:46 remaining.

“He’s been having a great year at the JV level, so we wanted to give him a shot and we thought it was time,” Driscoll said. “He has some speed and he’s another to watch. He’s only going to be a junior next year. We’re excited.” 

Everett pulled away to the eventual 56-28 scoreline. 

“Skill-wise, we were outmatched, but had some key players not playing today – which is no excuse. They’re a great football team with a good program,” Driscoll said. “I’m proud of my guys for hanging in there as long as they did.”

The Spartans finished the season with a 6-5 record, and although it was an inconsistent year, Driscoll was proud of his team and seniors. 

“They’re state champions,” Driscoll said. “I’ve got kids that committed to this and stuck with the course for four, some of them five years. Finishing the year 6-5 with not a lot of returning players, they hung tough and worked their butts off. We’re happy about them and what they did for the program.” 

Win or lose, Wednesday can only benefit the program, according to Driscoll.

“The good news is: the seniors we had playing today played hard, and they’ve come back all year. We had an up-and-down year, but they always came back,” Driscoll said. “We booked this game in August because they didn’t have [a game] and we didn’t have one, so we thought this would be a good challenge for our program. I think this will pay huge dividends later on.”