Chelsea bedevils Tech in defensive battle

LYNN — It’s not a big secret the respect that’s shared between Lynn Tech coach James Runner and former St. Mary’s and current Chelsea head man Mike Stellato. On Saturday night at Manning Field, the two good friends were on the sidelines as the Tigers looked to try and claim a spot in the Division 6 North playoffs.The Red Devils, however, were able to exact a little revenge for Tech knocking them out of the playoffs in nearly the same situation last season. Albert Alicea’s one-yard quarterback sneak with 1:35 left was the difference as Chelsea took a 14-7 victory to keep the Tigers out of the postseason.”We got them in the same position last season and it was their turn to do it to us,” Runner said. “That was a great football game by both teams on both sides of the ball.”Across the way, the coach who led St. Mary’s to its first Super Bowl title with Runner as one of his assistants was proud of the way his team fought to the end but also felt for his good friend.”James is like a son to me. He knows how much I love him and what he means to me and he’s done a fantastic job at Tech,” Stellato said. “Their kids played so hard and so did ours. It’s a great win for us over a very good team.”It was a defensive battle most of the way as both teams bent but didn’t yield much in terms of points. Chelsea took advantage of a short field to score its only touchdown over the first three and a half quarters while Tech got a 33-yard run from freshman Steffan Gravely to tie the game early in the second.It was still that way in the fourth quarter when the Tiger defense held on downs at its 20 with 7:15 left to go. Tech then looked to put together a drive that could get them the potential winning points.The Tigers got some help by a pair of 15-yard penalties on Chelsea that got the ball to the Red Devils 42 with plenty of time left. Two plays later, Tech faced third-and-10 and went to the air but Kalvin Duran stepped in front of Rafy Lora’s pass and returned the ball 56 yards to the Tech 18.”We thought about going a little two-for-one there but they gave us a look that we liked and they didn’t switch out of it,” Runner said. “Their kid just made a great play.”The Red Devils then quickly moved inside the 10 thanks to the sharp passing of Alicea, who hit on 17-of-25 passes in the game, to set up a first and goal at the four. The senior quarterback did the rest, carrying twice to get into the endzone with 1:35 to go.”Albert is a two year starter for us and he did a fantastic job of running our offense (Saturday),” Stellato said.There was still 95 seconds left for the Tigers to try and force overtime but the Red Devils defense delivered the knockout blow when Duran turned in his second interception in as many possessions.”This hurts but we have to go back and salvage what we have left of our season. We still want to come away with a winning record and we have a chance to do that,” Runner said.It was scoreless until late in the first when Chelsea got the ball on Tech’s 26 after a short punt. It took only three plays for the Red Devils to score as Alicea scrambled for a 7-0 lead with :56 left in the first.The Tigers came right back with a 64 yard drive in five plays as Gravely swept around the left side and went to the house to draw Tech even with 9:03 left in the half.