Tech looks for good end to a tough season

The Tech football team is looking to end a three-game skid and finish its season on a winning note when it faces St. Mary’s tonight (7) at Manning Field.The Tigers (3-7) got off on the right foot with an opening game win against Dorchester (28-6), but things went downhill from there with losses to Marian, O’Bryant, North Shore Tech and Minuteman putting the Tigers in a hole early on.Coach Gary Sverker said he started the season with guarded optimism despite only having three or four returning starters and a lot of kids who hadn’t played.”We knew it would be a process getting the kids into positions and starting to play football,” he said.Tech lost to Marian, 18-0, in week 2 and although the Tigers lost to O’Bryant, 20-12, the following week, they didn’t play badly. O’Bryant scored one of its touchdowns off a deflected pass and recovered a fumble for the other.”It was one of those days,” Sverker said, adding O’Bryant is undefeated.Sverker said his team didn’t’ play well in a 20-0 loss to North Shore Tech and ended up losing a “shootout” against Minuteman, 38-36, the following week.The Tigers got back on track on week 5 with a 40-8 win over Northeast Regional. Tech led 16-8 at the half and exploded for 24 second-half points in the win. Mikey Lara had two touchdowns in that game, and Josh Cheever ran back an interception 30 yards for six points. Gerard Fairweather, Anthony Coleman and Ryan Murphy (safety) also put points on the board for Tech.The momentum carried into the following week when the Tigers defeated Greater Lowell, 24-14. Leroy Davis had a big 47-yard touchdown run, Wardell Barber reeled in a 10-yard pass from Dustin Rooney and Fairweather ran one in from 28 yards out”Those were two pretty big wins for us against two pretty good teams,” Sverker said.The streak ended with a loss to Greater Lawrence followed by a 10-8 loss to Shawsheen.”That was a very good football team,” Sverker said.The Tigers also lost to Whittier, which is 10-0, and heading into postseason play. Three of Techs losses, Whittier, O’Bryant and Marian, were against teams heading into the post season.Several starters ended up leaving the team over the course of the season, leaving Sverker with the task of filling in some key positions including quarterback. Richie Warren and Dustin Rooney ended up splitting time at quarterback.”They’re both young quarterbacks. The competition is good. Whoever is playing the best finishes the game,” Sverker said.Wardell Barber, a 6-4 senior who moved up here from Arkansas, provided both with a good target, as has junior Conor Bryson, who had several PAT catches.Lorenzo Rivera, one of the keys on defense for the Tigers, injured his knee around the fifth week and was good for the season.”We thought that was going to be a real crisis,” Sverker said, adding that Alex Quinton and Josh Cheever really picked up the slack and David Mover moved to the defensive line.Sverker had several players running the ball over the course of the season including Steve Caisse, Coleman, Fairweather, Davis and as of a few weeks ago, Murphy.Sverker said he’s encouraged by the play of his offensive line, which showed considerable improvement over the season. Mover is at center with Cheever at right guard, Quinton at right tackle, Anthony Galloat left guard and Antonio Jimenez at left tackle. Bryson, Barber and Joe Brady are tight ends and receivers.”All three of them do pretty well,” Sverker said.Although he would have preferred to go into tonight’s game riding a winning streak instead of a three-game losing streak, Sverker is hopeful the last few games prepared his team for St. Mary’s.”I think playing those physical teams those last three weeks helped get us in a good frame of mind to play St. Mary’s,” Sverker said.Game time is 7 p.m. at Manning Field.”We always look forward to the night before Thanksgiving,” Sverker said. “I’m very grateful we have this game. It’s developed into a nice rivalry.”