Football: Two old rivals set to renew acquaintances

It is one of the scenes during the high school football season that fans always remember: the Lynn Tech and Northeast Regional football teams gathering as one at midfield to award MVP trophies to the outstanding players for each team.For the Tigers and the Golden Knights, their battle in the Commonwealth Conference Large is always entertaining ? but it also holds special meaning for the schools, who used to play each other to end the season.”It is always a close game when we play,” Tech coach Gary Sverker said. “We’re both vocational schools and we have a lot in common and they’re a very good team.”The two schools honor a pair of players who were killed in accidents at far too young an age. The Tigers MVP trophy is named for Ricky Drislane, who was killed on Thanksgiving night in 1987 after a car accident just after the conclusion of his senior season at Tech. Drislane had rushed for over 1,000 yards and was named the league’s Co-MVP.The Golden Knights award is named for Ed Repucci, who befell the same fate as Drislane.”We have always had good games with them in the past,” Sverker said.Tech comes in riding high after staging a huge comeback to get past Shawsheen, 36-29, last week. The Tigers (6-2) were actually in a 29-14 hole in the third quarter before ripping off the game’s final 22 points.”That game with Shawsheen really was a big win for us,” Sverker said. “They are always well-coached and we were down something like 15 points in that game and were able to come back.”One of the reasons for Tech’s success recently has been the play of quarterback Dustin Rooney. The Tigers’ signal-caller followed a stellar performance against Mystic Valley with an equally outstanding effort against the Rams, throwing for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave the Tigers the clinching touchdown.”Dustin has really been playing well,” Sverker said. “He’s thrown for over 200 yards in two games in a row. Since I’ve been here, we’ve never done that.”Ryan Murphy also has helped the Tigers bounce back from tough losses to Whittier and Manchester-Essex. The senior rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown and also caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Rooney in the third quarter to ignite the Tigers’ charge.”Ryan is closing in on 1,000 yards and has been running great for us all year,” Sverker said.The Tiger defense also has taken giant steps forward this season but will be tested again this week by Northeast’s Wing-T attack.”It’s all based on deception,” Sverker said. “We have to be able to read our proper keys.”Fenwick at St. Mary’sAt Manning Field (7), the Spartans will look for a second consecutive win as they face a Fenwick team they haven’t beaten in over two decades.St. Mary’s comes in off a 22-18 win over Archbishop Williams in Braintree last week. Running back Todd Collier paced the Spartan attack, rushing for 126 yards and a touchdown.Ryan Barrows added 93 yards rushing and the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.For the Crusaders, they will try to bounce back from a 36-20 loss at Arlington Catholic last week. Fenwick had a 14-7 lead in the second quarter but had no answer for Charlie Bates, who scored all five Cougar scores.Tyler Thomann had a pair of touchdowns for the Crusaders and Brett Kidik returned an interception for a touchdown.Swampscott at SaugusAt Stackpole Field (2:30), the Big Blue (6-2, 2-0 NEC South) found themselves trailing Winthrop 21-7 late in the first half last week. But Swampscott rallied to tie the game at the half and eventually scored on its last eight possessions en route to a 55-27 win over the Vikings.Quarterback Matt Barbuzzi had perhaps his finest performance of the season, completing 18-of-23 throws for 354 yards and four touchdowns. Kyle Shonio also rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns as the Big Blue put up 535 yards of total offense.The Sachems, meanwhile, have been hit hard by the injury bug and suffered a 51-0 loss at Beverly last week.