Danvers’ triple lutz takes care of Revere

DANVERS – Call this one a “Triple Lutz.”Clinton Lutz, that is. The senior running back scored three of Danvers’ four touchdowns in a 25-12 win over Revere at Danvers on Friday.”Lutz was banged up last year,” Danvers coach John Sullivan said. “He played the last game of the season. This was his first chance.”And he made the most of it to keep the Falcons undefeated at 3-0.Lutz helped the Falcons widen a 13-6 halftime lead in the third quarter. He had scored his first TD on a decoy play from the 3-yard line with 4:55 left before halftime ? and then, to open the second half, Sullivan reached into his playbook for a double reverse halfback option that resulted in Greg Little throwing the option to Lutz for 53 yards. This gave Danvers a first down on the Revere eight. A personal-foul call on the next play spotted the ball 1.5 yards from the end zone and Lutz ran it in for a 19-6 lead at the 9:48 mark.The Danvers defense also deserved top billing, making critical stops of Revere on fourth down. When the Patriots got the ball after Danvers’ touchdown, junior QB Paul Norton engineered a drive that reached the Falcons’ 30. However, on third-and-1, Shane Tobyne tackled Jessie Kielpinski for a 5-yard loss, and on fourth-and-6 on the Danvers 35, the defense stopped Norton for no gain.”We moved the ball pretty well,” Patriots coach Lou Cicatelli said. “We had fourth-and-short and third-and-short. We had th e ball in the red zone two times. But we couldn’t convert short yardage.”Lutz and Danvers made the Patriots pay on the next drive. Lutz ran 29 yards for a first down at the Revere 33, and the Falcons would overcome a holding call as Lutz took it in from the 2-yard line for a 25-6 lead with 3:50 left in the third.Revere (1-2) saw its next two drives end on fourth-down plays. On fourth-and-5 from the Falcons’ 46, Norton completed a pass ? but a tackle from former Item Defensive Player of the Week Dan Skinner resulted in Danvers getting the ball at its 44. Revere got a defensive gem of its own when Soheal Arachiche intercepted Danvers QB Greg Ladd in the end zone ? but the subsequent Patriots drive stalled when, on fourth-and-4 at the Falcons’ 21, Norton’s pass to Trae Weathers was just three yards shy of a first down. By then, there was 5:17 left on the clock.”I give a lot of credit to the preparation work with Jack Jones, our defensive coordinator,” Sullivan said. “I’m happy with the way the kids played.”Revere broke through when, after forcing Danvers to punt, Norton found Drew Lauria for 32 yards and Arachiche for a 19-yard touchdown to make it 25-12. It was Cicatelli’s turn to try something unconventional ? but Danvers recovered a squib kick and was on its way to a win.This started as a close game. Revere led 6-0 after one on Weathers’ 76-yard touchdown run. The Falcons responded on a key play on third-and-4 from the Pats’ 49. Ladd ran a keeper and the referee called a penalty on Revere.”They called a hit out of bounds,” Cicatelli said. “It was awfully close. It was 15 yards.”Burgos would eventually take it in from the one and the PAT gave Danvers a 7-6 lead it would not relinquish.