LYNN— Prior to Saturday morning’s game against Greater Lowell, the Tech football team had breezed through its Commonwealth Athletic Conference schedule. Tech’s 6-0 start to the 2017 season placed the Tigers one win away from finishing the regular season undefeated and claiming the CAC/Small crown.
Tech, No. 1 in Division 8 North, will host Marian-Keefe Tech on Saturday night at Manning.
But the Gryphons were no walk in the park. Greater Lowell held Tech scoreless through the first half before the Tigers were able to punch in two touchdowns in the third quarter to claim the 13-0 win. The victory gives Tech its first CAC Small title since 1991.
“We’ve had battles with Greater Lowell in the last four years,” Tech coach James Runner said. “Two years ago we had an overtime fight, 45-42, against them. We talked about that before the game started. It was a great football game. We’ve been waiting for this. We wanted a test.”
For the first time all season, the Tigers were held scoreless through the first half. Tech started the game with a promising opening drive to Greater Lowell’s 17-yard line but a stingy Gryphons defense forced the Tigers to turn the ball over on downs.
Defense was the theme in the second quarter. Greater Lowell drove to Tech’s 29-yard line before Harvey Marmolejos recovered a Gryphons fumble. After the teams exchanged interceptions, caught by RJ Sawtelle of the Gryphons and Tech’s Keoni Gaskin, Greater Lowell threatened to score again. The Gryphons moved the ball to Tech’s 22-yard line but Marmolejos intercepted a Jake Noel pass to end the threat.
After a scoreless half, Tech needed to take a breather and make adjustments. The Gryphons held Tech to just 90 total yards through the first two quarters.
“They did some things with their defensive ends,” Runner said. “They were trying to match up with wherever Steffan (Gravely) was lined up. We were able to take advantage of that in the second half.”
Tech’s offense found its rhythm in the third quarter. Gravely took a handoff on the first play of the quarter and ran it 54 yards into the end zone. Jamie James added the PAT kick for the 7-0 Tigers lead.
On the next possession, Greater Lowell pushed the ball to Tech’s two-yard line. Again, the Tigers defense rose to the occasion as David Barrios recovered a Gryphons fumble to escape the jam.
Barrios padded the lead with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Elvin Gonzalez (kick failed) and the Tigers were up 13-0 after three quarters.
“Their coverages were getting a little soft,” Runner said. “They were looking for our run game a little more and that opened things up for us.
“Elvin and David are two of our shiftier players,” Runner added. “Steffan and Keoni get a lot of credit but Elvin and David are pretty good too.”
That was all the scoring Tech needed to come away with the 13-0 win.
Gravely, who ran for 140 yards on 17 carries, broke the program’s record for career rushing yards. The previous mark of 4,859 yards was held by Tigers assistant coach Kennedy Gomes.
“Kennedy did it in three years,” Runner said. “Steffan’s going to pass 5,000 yards when the season’s over and that’s in four years.
“It was big for Steffan and Kennedy but it was also big for our offensive line,” Runner added. “Kevin Aguilar has been a starting offensive lineman for us for four years and he has been a part of every one of Steffan’s yards.”
