Tech routs Northeast

The last few weeks have been tough for Tech. Coming off a loss last week to Minuteman, Tech coach Gary Sverker said he felt his team needed to put together a complete game to win. On Friday night at Manning Field, the Tigers got that complete game en route to a 40-8 drubbing of visiting Northeast.Tech earned the victory by coming up with big plays all night. After Mikey Lara scored from four yards out, and Northeast battled back with a score, it looked as if both teams would head into halftime tied at eight.Instead, Josh Cheever had different plans. With roughly 30 seconds remaining in the half, the Golden Knights looked to run a screen play, which had four plays earlier netted a 12-yard gain. Cheever, reading the play on defense, jumped the route from his spot on the defensive line and intercepted the ball. Cheever then rumbled for 30 yards for a score. Instead of looking at a tie game, Tech took a 16-8 lead into halftime and never looked back.”That was a big play,” said Sverker of the interception. “It showed the total team effort tonight, especially after coming off of a good week of practice.”The second half opened with Northeast in possession of the ball. Three plays into the half, Anthony Coleman came up with an interception on an overthrown ball. The resulting play was Lara barreling through the line and running 19 yards for the touchdown.On the ensuing kickoff, the Golden Knights fumbled the ball, which Tech recovered to start a drive at the Northeast 21. Four plays later, including a Dustin Rooney to Gerrad Fairweather 18-yard pass, Coleman pounded through the line for a one-yard touchdown. The last six minutes of football for Tech had produced 22 points and given the Tigers a heady 30-8 lead.The defense for Tech did not rest, however. After forcing a three-and-out, Tech failed to cap an 11-play, 50-yard drive, which chewed up over five minutes of the clock. While Northeast did prevent Tech from scoring from the one-yard line, the first play of the Golden Knights’ possession ended in a Ryan Murphy-led gang tackle in the end zone for a safety.”Our defense set the tone for tonight. We had interceptions, a fumble recovery, scored a touchdown. So our defense played very well tonight,” said Sverker.After receiving the required punt by Northeast, a Leroy Davis 50-yard touchdown was called back after the Tigers were penalized for holding. It was only the second penalty of the game for Tech. Still, the next play saw Fairweather turn the corner on a pitch and sprint 35 yards downfield for a touchdown. Tech had extended the lead by another 10 points before 45 seconds had melted away from the clock.After the game, both Northeast and Tech gathered at midfield in honor of two players from both schools. Each season, Northeast and Tech hand out awards in honor of Ed Repucci from Northeast and Ricky Drislane from Tech. Repucci and Drislane were players who died as the result of injuries sustained in separate car accidents. This year, Korey Keane from Northeast and Ryan Murphy from Tech were the recipients of this honor.