Tigers battle but fall short against Gr. Lawrence

ANDOVER – The tangible evidence – wins – may not be there but the maturation of the Lynn Tech football team under rookie coach James Runner is apparent. A disastrous second quarter notwithstanding, the Tigers took a measurable step forward in Saturday’s 21-0 loss to Greater Lawrence at Gleason Field.Tech0Gr. Lawr.21 With only a handful of seniors departing and underclassmen gaining experience in all the key skill positions, the Tigers (1-4; 1-9) project to move up in the Commonwealth Large ranks next fall. But that is then and this is now and Saturday’s otherwise solid effort against the high-octane Reggies (3-1; 7-2) went off track during a second quarter in which the hosts did all of their scoring with two of the touchdowns following a pair of the Tigers’ four first-half turnovers.”It was one of those situations where we put our defense in some bad positions,” said Runner. “It’s frustrating, but one of the things we’re stressing here is for the boys to have more pride in themselves and I think that’s starting to show. That (Greater Lawrence) is a senior-laden team and, except for 10 or 11 minutes, we played with them.”The Tech defense acquitted itself well. Greater Lawrence began five of its eight possessions inside Tech territory, but the Tigers held on downs three times in the red zone and halted a fourth advance with a turnover. Sophomore linebacker Jason Grant and junior defensive back Kennedy Gomes both had interceptions.”The defense played really well and I’m proud of the boys for fighting. We were prepared for Greater Lawrence – they didn’t do anything offensively we weren’t prepared for,” Runner said.Fueled by diminutive senior running back Joe Pizzuto (28 carries, 167 yards), who carried four times for 35 yards on the drive, the Reggies took the lead on a 7-play, 54-yard drive capped by quarterback Juan Carlos Gomez’s 13-yard keeper around the right side on the first play of the second quarter. The PAT failed, leaving it at 6-0.The hosts then cashed in on Tech miscues on consecutive possessions. Pizzuto pinballed in from nine yards and Cristian Rivera tacked on the conversion rush for a 14-0 lead following Gomes’ fumble at his own 49. Then, after the Reggies’ Lenny Paulino pilfered Gomes’ pass at the Tech 38, Jake Barchard swept in from the left side on 4th-and-3 from the six. Marlon Orellana’s PAT made it 21-0 with 2:55 left in the half, completing the scoring for the day.Playing with that sense of pride that Runner preaches, the Tigers dictated the second half, limiting the Reggies to 17 offensive snaps while putting together consecutive mistake-free drives of 15 and 10 plays. Though neither produced points, they will provide the coaching staff plenty to build on during preparation for the annual Thanksgiving Eve clash with St. Mary’s (Manning Field, 7 p.m.).”Kennedy is a tough kid – he showed a lot of guts today,” Runner said of his signal-caller. “And all of our tailbacks (Pedro Martinez, Tem Tchoumi, Joel Devaney) ran hard. Now we get ready for St. Mary’s, a very talented team.”