Tech ready to go in state vocational tournament

With a state vocational title on the line, the Lynn Tech football team will play Southeastern in a championship game for the Large School division today. The Tigers have never played in a vocational bowl game before.”This is a first,” Tech coach Gary Sverker said. “The kids are very excited, rightfully so, especially to be playing in December ? This is a good group of kids.”This has been a season of good news for Tech. Sverker was named Commonwealth Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and one of his players, Ryan Murphy, was named CAC Co-Player of the Year. Fellow Tigers Joe Brady, David Mover, Dustin Rooney and Alex Quinton were named to the CAC all-star team.Tech (7-4) meets Southeastern (6-5) at Veterans Memorial Stadium at the corner of Rte. 3A and Hancock Street in Quincy (7 p.m.). The tournament selects teams based on their records against vocational schools. Tech went 4-2 against vocational teams, while Southeastern – a Mayflower League school whose players come from southern Massachusetts cities such as Brockton and West Bridgewater – went 4-1.The Tigers’ offense features Murphy at running back. Asked whether Murphy will get the majority of the carries tonight, Sverker quipped, “If I were a betting man, yes,” adding that Steven Caisse and Leroy Davis will likely get carries as well.”We’ve got some backs who can run,” Sverker said.So does Southeastern, which includes backs Nick Ready and Mike Sacks, as well as quarterback Mike Smith.”They’re more of a running team,” Sverker said. “They don’t throw a lot ? They’ve got quick kids. They try to go outside. They have a 4-4 on defense.”When Tech plays defense, its coach can point to numerous players who have impressed this season.”Joe Brady’s number-one role will be to play outside linebacker just the way he’s supposed to,” Sverker said, adding that Brady and Pedro Martinez will try to stop the Hawks from running to the perimeter, along with linebackers Sonny Yum and Murphy. The coach will also look to Mover, his aptly-named middle linebacker (“He’s a mover and a shaker”), to stop the Hawks’ fullback.”We have to follow assignments,” Sverker said, “and try to control the line of scrimmage and let the linebackers make plays.”The night before the game, the coach sounded confident.”I think they’ve got just as much to worry about as us,” he said.NOTES: Sverker said that the vocational bowl games have been around for about seven or eight years ? The Tigers and Hawks used to play each other, about 10 or 11 years ago ? North Shore Voke meets Blackstone Valley in the Small School bowl game. “(North Shore coach) Paul Worth is a good friend of mine,” Sverker said. “It’s great for the North Shore to have these two teams.” ? Asked about any retirement talk (this is his 19th year at Tech), Sverker said, “I go one day at a time ? I always reevaluate at the end of the year. The kids always joke that I say I’m all done and then I’m back. When it’s time to go, I’ll let you know.”