Stoneham Headed To Gillette After Hammering Littleton

MEDFORD - Seth Russell knows where to throw the praise, even on a night when everyone in Hormel Stadium was talking about No. 4.

"A shout out to heavy D and the boys," said Russell. "That line, they come off the ball as hard as they can and we move forward every play."

It just might be the best way to describe a season that has one more stop, the Division 6 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium. Behind Russell's 127 yards rushing with one touchdown, his touchdown reception, and his two interceptions, Stoneham beat Littleton, 45-7, in the Division 6 state semifinal Saturday. The Spartans, who broke open a scoreless game with 24 second-quarter points, will face Old Rochester on Dec. 1.

As it has done all season, the Stoneham line that includes Brendan Doherty, Michael Driscoll, Chris Belliveau, Stephen Chatelle, and Antonio Ventresca hammered away at an opposing defense. There may not be a single WR on the Stoneham roster but there are 20 OL/DL and Russell is happy to follow any of them.

“Seth Russell was ridiculous tonight. He had a fantastic night,” said Stoneham coach Bob Almeida. “Really the two of them as a combination is very, very tough to beat. The O-line did a great job, everybody did a fantastic job, offense and defense.”

If you have to ask who the other back is in Almeida’s “combination” you haven’t been paying attention. Christos Argyropoulos and Russell have been running through opposing defenses all season, one reason Stoneham (11-0) is scoring better than 43 ppg. Argyropoulos had 13 carries for 61 yards and scored his lone touchdown on a 62-yard interception return. That score was his 30th touchdown of the season.

It didn’t appear a 45-7 final was in the cards after a scoreless first quarter. But a 16-play drive carried over into the second and quarterback Deshaun Chase broke the ice with a 1-yard touchdown run. That score opened the floodgates for the Spartans. After Russell’s first interception, a diving grab off a tipped pass, Stoneham took six plays to go 36 yards. Chase scored his second touchdown to make it 16-0 with 5:39 to go before the half.

Littleton went three-and-out and Russell got the Spartans next drive started with a 28-yard run and finished it with a 24-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left in the half. A scoreless 11 minutes was followed by 24 points in the next 11 and at the break the Spartans were up 24-0. In the half, Stoneham ran 33 plays to Littleton’s 14 and the Tigers had just one first down.

In the third quarter Chase connected with Russell on a 31-yard touchdown pass to make it 30-0. Stoneham doesn't pass much, but when it does, it usually works.

"There's always that situation where, alright, this is the one right here," said Russell. "The coaches can see what the defense is doing. It's just picking the right time."

At that point Littleton (8-3) was pulling out every trick in the playbook, none of which worked for the Tigers. Argyropoulos' interception came when Littleton quarterback Braden Lynn pitched to Mitch Beaudoin and then went out for a pass. But Argyropoulos stepped in front of Beaudoin’s pass and ran it back 62 yards to make it 38-0 after three quarters.

Stoneham’s Chris Dragone scored on a 32-yard run following Russell’s second interception to make it 45-0. Littleton got on the board on a 3-yard run by Will Scott with 3:42 left to play.

“These kids have been unbelievable all the way. They are just so focused all the time,” said Almeida. “They have fun, they’re goof-balls and they have fun at practice. They have fun in the locker room. When it’s time to go, they’re ready to go.”

And after playing Reading on Thanksgiving, they're ready to go to Gillette.

"It's just everything I dreamed about," said Russell.

Photo by Bob Holmes