Runner wins in debut as Tech football coach

FRAMINGHAM ? It is often said that in life you only have one chance to make a good first impression. It became quite evident that new Tech head football coach James Runner had flourished with his opportunity to do so as he received a Gatorade shower after the Tigers stormed past Marian in decisive fashion, 27-0, Saturday.Tech27Marian0 “I’m extremely excited right now,” Runner said. “It feels great to get that first win under my belt and it is huge to get it as a shutout.”Tech (1-0) dominated all facets of the game right from the very beginning. The defending vocational school state champions gained 262 yards of offense (183 coming on the ground), while only allowing 87. In fact, the closest the Mustangs (0-2) got to the end zone was when they got to the Tigers 24-yard line in the first half.”The defense played well all day,” said Runner. “The special teams were strong too, and so was the offense for that matter. We just had a good day.”Nobody on the Tigers had a stronger all-around day than Richie Warren. On offense, the junior had four catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns. On special teams he scored another touchdown on a 69-yard punt return in the first quarter. And to top off his performance, he was in on eight tackles on defense playing out of position at free safety – with the cherry on top being an interception.”(Warren) really showed up for us today,” said Runner. “He is a great athlete. He made some big plays and he really hit on that punt return. We wanted to go to him a bit in the second half because we saw a big mismatch with the cornerback covering him.”Sophomore quarterback Kennedy Gomes showed a lot of promise in his first game at the helm of Tech’s offense. He picked up 79 yards through the air and a pair of touchdowns, and he rushed for 56 yards (50 coming on a first quarter scramble for a touchdown).”(Gomes) did a nice job controlling the offense,” said Runner. “He had a few very nice passes at the end of the game.”Despite battling through cramp issues throughout the second half, junior captain Pedro Martinez also had a strong performance running the ball. He had an impressive 10-yard per carry average, as he picked up 80 yards on eight carries. He also had a long touchdown run called back on a holding call in the third quarter.”Pedro is a tough kid and a good athlete,” said Runner. “We have very good conditioning too, so I’m sure that (cramps) won’t be an issue.”The Tigers had a few other standouts on defense. Joel Devaney was all over the field making big hit after big hit. Michael Lora and Jason Grant both picked up a sack. Leroy Davis picked up an interception on a fake punt attempt. He also returned the ball beyond the original line of scrimmage.