Mistakes plague Tech against Mystic Valley

LYNN – The uncertainty of youth surfaced for the Lynn Tech football team in its 26-8 loss to Mystic Valley of Malden in a Commonwealth Conference crossover tilt Saturday morning at Manning Field.Mystic Valley26Tech8 Looking to build momentum from last week’s win against Greater Lowell, the Tigers (1-5) instead came up empty on three first-half probes inside the MV 30-yard line, committed three turnovers and suffered nine negative offensive plays for minus-61 yards. While the teams appeared evenly matched in ability, the visiting Eagles were the far more cohesive club on both sides of the scrimmage line.”That team wasn’t better than us – even their coach told me that after the game. The biggest thing is that a lot of our younger players were playing at their own tempo. There was a lot of miscommunication among our linemen and small stuff that happens when you’re young. We played tough and gave a great effort but we didn’t play as a team,” said Tech coach James Runner, whose club has only a smattering of seniors.Seeking to snap a three-game losing streak, Mystic Valley (3-4) set the tempo immediately, opening with a clock-eating 10-play, 72-yard drive that consumed 6:02. Quarterback Mike Pascal carried three times for 36 yards and completed three passes for 29 yards. The capper came on 4th-and-goal from the four when Pascal rolled left and found Robert DeSantis for a diving catch in the back of the end zone. Alex Arredondo added the two-point conversion for the early 8-0 lead.Tech drove to the MV 29 on its first possession but quarterback Kennedy Gomes (21 carries, 81 yards) was dropped for a two-yard loss on 4th-and-1 at the 29. Tech also turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles’ 19 midway through the second quarter and DeSantis intercepted Gomes’ overthrown 4th-and-12 pass at the MV five with 38 seconds left in the half.The Tigers got into immediate trouble to start the second half when the Eagles pounced on a fumble at the Tech seven on the first play of the half. Eric Natale swept in from five yards two plays later for a 14-0 lead with 9:47 left in the third quarter.”We talk about the first five minutes of the third quarter being the most important and we came out and had a penalty on the kickoff and the fumble on the first play when one of our young linemen blocked inside instead of outside,” said Runner.The Eagles put it away early in the fourth following Natale’s weaving 63-yard punt return to the Tigers’ three. Arredondo (11 carries, 158 yards) banged in for the score on the ensuing play, then added a 78-yard scoring jaunt that expanded MV’s lead to 26-0 with 5:10 remaining.The Tigers avoided the shutout with a late 46-yard scoring drive that featured five Gomes carries for 42 yards, including a nine-yard TD. Pedro Martinez added the conversion and, for the day, bulled his way to 36 hard-fought yards on 10 carries. Richie Warren Jr. added three receptions for 46 yards. On the defensive side, Jacob Devaney recovered a fumble and Jason Grant recorded the Tigers’ lone sack.”I thought our defense played pretty well. They were just put in some bad situations,” said Runner, whose club hits the road for next Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. game against Shawsheen (5-1).