Footballl preview: Tech hopes that it can shock the world

LYNN – The Lynn Tech (3-7) football team would like nothing more than to shock the world ? or at least those who will be wearing St. Mary’s colors tonight.The Tigers, who will be trying to halt a five-game losing skid after starting the season 3-1, know it will be a challenge. But coach James Runner believes his team is ready to meet it.?We are going to come out and go as hard as we can,” Runner said. “St. Mary’s is a good program and coach (Matt) Durgin has done a good job. But our kids are pumped up and are ready for this game.”Tech looked like it was primed to potentially be a playoff team this season after ripping off three wins in a row following an opening loss to Pope John Paul II. But the Tigers fortunes turned after their bye week as turnovers and injuries derailed their playoff hopes.?Since the bye it?s been tough for us. We’ve had a lot of injuries and turned the ball over way too much. But at the same time, the kids have given me a good effort,” Runner said. “We just couldn’t get the season to finish the way that we wanted it to.”The future looks brighter for Tech, however, as it will graduate just six players off its roster. One of the players graduating, though, is two-year starting quarterback Rafy Lora, who has been a rock for the Tigers despite fighting some nagging injuries.?It’s been a tough year for Rafy but he’s been a great leader for us and he’s a great kid,” Runner said.The Tigers youth movement was led by freshman running back Stefan Gravely, who has rushed for over 800 yards and 10 touchdowns and also has become a leader on the defensive side of the ball. His backfield mate, Devin Phean, has been a quiet leader on both sides of the ball for Tech.?Devin is one of those kids who plays a position (fullback) where you do the most work but get the least amount of credit,” said Runner, a former fullback himself at Classical. “He also has been the quarterback of our defense and I’m excited that we’ve got him for another year.”Another player who has stepped up for the Tigers is wide receiver Justin Lewis, who became Tech’s deep-ball threat in the passing game, and excelled in the defensive backfield.Playing mostly underclassmen in key positions is something that Runner knows will pay dividends for his team next season.?These kids got a lot of experience this year,” he said. “They’re the ones that are going to lead us in the future.”Whether the future includes annual match-ups against St. Mary?s remains to be seen. There has been speculation the rivalry will end tonight. For now, though, Runner knows his team will be challenged.?We don’t look at this as a regular-season game,” he said. “It’s more like a playoff type of game. (St. Mary’s) makes it look easy sometimes because they do what they do so well.”The Spartans played Whittier Tech from the Tigers? Commonwealth Conference earlier this month — a first-round playoff loss for St. Mary?s.?We want to take some of the things that Whittier did well against them and try to carry it over into this game,” Runner said.?We may not have gotten the wins that we wanted this season but we still have some great team chemistry and we are going to come out and play hard.”