LYNN — Not much went right for the KIPP football team on Thursday night when the Panthers hosted Greater Lowell at Manning Field. And when nothing goes right for a team, a game can get out of hand quickly.
That was the case Thursday night as Greater Lowell scored 22 points in the first quarter and 10 more in the second, rolling to a 38-8 win over the Panthers.
KIPP (1-2) coach Jim Rabbitt said his team expected a talented offense from the Gryphons, a Commonwealth Athletic Conference opponent, but falling into a 22-0 hole in the first quarter affected the Panthers the rest of the way.
“We knew they were big up front, they have a lot of speed and they’re very, very physical,” Rabbitt said. “We watched them play Nashoba last week and they were hungry. They’re a hungry, tough tech school team. They have a great quarterback and a great running back.
“When you’re down by that much, your team tends to lose some emotion,” Rabbitt added. “I think we kept our emotion, we just made some mistakes. We put the ball on the ground, threw an interception. Again, turnovers are our biggest thing right now. We made some mistakes and that kept us from getting back into the game.”
The Gryphons got things started five minutes into the game when Develle Smith scored on a 10-yard carry. After a KIPP turnover, Greater Lowell quarterback Jake Noel connected with receiver RJ Sawtelle for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Gryphons running back Juan Serrano joined in on the fun with a six-yard touchdown run with 2:50 to play in the quarter. Add in a pair of two-point conversions and the Panthers were staring at a 22-0 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Greater Lowell picked up where it left off in the second quarter. Noel found a wide-open Jeremy Gray for a 15-yard touchdown pass to boost the lead to 28-0. An aggressive Greater Lowell defense added four points to the lead with a pair of safeties, and the Gryphons led 32-0 at halftime.
“(At halftime) We told the guys to have some pride,” Rabbitt said. “It’s very easy to quit, it’s very easy to give in. We wanted them show how much pride they have in themselves and how much pride they have in this program. I think our guys came out and answered. I think we won the second half and we didn’t quit.”
The Gryphons drove down the field for another score to open the second half. A touchdown pass of two yards from Trevor Lupien to King Mondiere capped the drive for the 38-0 lead.
The Panthers broke through in the fourth quarter on a Tomi Oladunjoye eight-yard touchdown run. Oladunjoye carried the Panthers into Gryphon territory with a 62-yard run, the key play on the drive. Keury Rodriguez added the two-point conversion but the Gryphons walked away with the 38-8 win.
“Tomi has been working hard all week,” Rabbitt said. “He has been working on his vision. It’s nice to see that hard work pay off, against a tough team. His hard work is paying off now. I see him getting better as the year goes on.”
KIPP will now turn the page and aim for a win next Saturday afternoon when the Panthers visit another CAC foe in Mystic Valley. It’ll be the first road game of the season for KIPP.
“We’ll watch the film,” Rabbitt said. “We’re going to learn from the mistakes we made. I think we’ll go back to the basics. We have to understand the things we need to know to compete in this league.”
