Northeast Regional too tough for Tech

WAKEFIELD – By the time Lynn Tech’s offense got the ball for the first time Saturday morning at Breakheart Stadium, Northeast Metro Tech had amassed 112 yards of total offense and seven first downs, racing out to a 14-0 lead in little more than seven minutes.Click here for a photo gallery of Saturday’s gameWhile that start proved far too difficult to overcome in an eventual 36-6 loss to the senior-laden two-time defending Division 4A Super Bowl champion Golden Knights, the Tigers didn’t back away from the fray.”All respect to them – that’s a big, physical football team but we kept playing,” said Tech coach James Runner of Northeast. In post-game remarks to his players, Runner stressed the season is by no means over for the Tigers, now 1-2 in the Commonwealth Large (5-2 overall) after consecutive losses to the division’s iron (Greater Lawrence, Northeast).”We’re coming back ready to keep fighting. We still have the opportunity to get into the Vocational School Tournament with wins against Greater Lowell and Cape Cod Tech in the next couple of weeks. We have to keep our morale up and get back on the winning track. It’s a four-week season now,” he said.Senior back Bobby Novello drove the Knights, rolling up 198 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries. Although Tech’s defense made Northeast (2-0, 6-1) work for its real estate, the Knights still rushed for 357 yards on 53 attempts.”I’m proud of how the defense played – they (Northeast) didn’t run up and down the field on us. A lot of that came in small chunks. We just couldn’t get them off the field,” Runner said.Northeast ticked off a 10-play, 64-yard game-opening scoring drive that featured a heavy dose of Novello (47 yards) and was capped by QB Dave Mahoney’s one-yard sneak. The Knights then recovered Alejandro Arrano’s well-executed onside kick at the Tigers’ 48. Jonathan Hughes carried four times for 26 yards on the ensuing drive, finished by Novello’s four-yard run. He added the two-point conversion, making it 14-0 with 3:15 left in the first quarter.Northeast gained total control early in the second quarter. Facing third-and-27 at their own 30, Novello ripped off 52 yards on a counter to the right, then swept the right side from five yards for a 20-0 lead three plays later.”Their guard blocked down and our ‘Mike’ backer came through the inside gap but their kid bounced it outside. We had them in a bad spot but they made the play,” Runner said.The Tigers countered after recovering another onside kick at midfield. After finding Jason Grant for nine yards and a first down at the Northeast 39, quarterback Kennedy Gomes delivered a scoring strike to Eric Ward (2 catches, 41 yards) with 2:33 left in the half on a pass tipped by Northeast’s Hughes. The two-point try failed and Tech trailed at the break, 20-6.Tech was unable to penetrate inside the Northeast 40 in the second half and Novello added scoring runs of four and 18 yards in the third quarter to account for the final.Gomes accounted for the vast majority of Tech’s offensive output, rushing for 54 yards on 12 carries with a significant portion of that yardage coming after being flushed out of the pocket. Jeremy Quinton notched Tech’s lone sack of the day and Joel Devaney had a fumble recovery.