CHELSEA — Lynn Tech coach James Runner couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the season, as the Tigers football team rolled to a 34-0 win at Chelsea on Friday night.
As is usually the case with Tech, the powerful running back duo of Steffan Gravely and Keoni Gaskin stole the show for the Tigers. Gravely rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 58 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Gaskin fared just as well, rushing for 77 yards and two touchdowns while also converting a two-point play and scoring a touchdown on defense.
“Those guys lived up to the hype like always,” said Runner. “We know what they can do out there, and having the both of them playing at a high level gives us so many options on offense.”
The Tigers got rolling quickly. After losing the coin toss and having to kick off, Tech kicker Ali Bdawi placed a great squib kick in no-man’s land that bounced off a Chelsea player and ended up in the Tigers’ possession. They capitalized quickly, as Gravely took a handoff on the second play of the drive and dashed 35 yards for a touchdown.
Things didn’t turn around for Chelsea at that point, as on the ensuing possession quarterback David Bui fumbled two snaps in a row, the second of which fell into the hands of a Tech defender. While the Red Devils did force and recover a fumble on the very next play, their momentum was stopped with a quick three-and-out series.
After getting the ball back, Tech moved down the field again. Gravely was the star of the drive once again, catching a 33-yard pass from quarterback David Barrios and capping it off with another impressive 30-yard touchdown run. After Barrios hit Brandon Touy to convert the two-point play, Tech held a 14-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Tech was able to force another three-and-out to get the ball inside Chelsea territory. After a couple runs by Gravely, Gaskin and Barrios, Gaskin was able to punch in a two-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up by 20.
On the ensuing drive for Chelsea, Bui again had trouble with the snap and fumbled on the first play. The bouncing ball was scooped up by Gaskin, and he put his running back skills on display again with a 27-yard touchdown on the recovery.
After another fumbled snap by Bui gave Tech the ball back, Barrios capped the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gravely. Gaskin punched in the two-pointer, and Tech went up 34-0 at the half.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Tigers, as there were several issues that came up during the course of the game. The most glaring issue was penalties, of which Tech committed 11 for a total of 70 yards. Tech also had some issues holding onto the ball, fumbling it twice over the course of the game.
“There’s still plenty we have to work on, and trust me, we’ll be drilling that stuff in practice all week,” Runner said. “I can’t stand penalties, and the kind of penalties we had and the amount we had simply will not fly as we go through the season.”
The Tigers will take on rival Mystic Valley for their home opener next Saturday afternoon at Manning Field, a team that has battled Tech for dominance in the CAC over the past few years.
“The last three years have really been a good rivalry,” Runner said. “We know what we’re going up against, they’re a good team with a good quarterback. It’ll be a barnburner for sure, because we’re a power team and they’re a spread team, so it’ll be interesting to see the two philosophies clash.”
