WESTFORD — When Lynn Tech football coach James Runner looked at his projected roster for the 2017 season back in August, he knew his team had enough talent for a special year. All the Tigers had to do from there was work their way towards a banner season.
Thursday night’s Massachusetts Vocational Athletic Directors Association championship game at Nashoba Valley gave the Tigers an opportunity to end their season with a crown — and they made the most of it.
Tech’s senior running back duo of Steffan Gravely (23 carries, 216 yards) and Keoni Gaskin (8 carries, 100 yards) was too much for Nashoba Valley to handle, as it combined for all seven touchdowns in a 50-22 Tigers’ win for the MVADA Small Championship.
“We were fortunate to have a lot returners this season,” Runner said. “We knew we had a lot of guys that could play multiple downs and that’s huge. We knew we had Keoni and Steffan coming back and having David (Barrios) return at quarterback was important.”
The Tigers got off to an ideal start in the first quarter. After the teams swapped quick opening possessions, Gravely found his rhythm. A Gravely 26-yard carry brought the Tigers into the red zone. Gaskin cashed in with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead. Quarterback David Barrios linked up with Jamie James for the 2-point conversion, bumping the lead to 8-0 with 4:39 remaining.
Gaskin and Gravely switched duties on Tech’s next possession. A Gaskin 44-yard rush put Tech at the Vikings’ 1-yard line. This time it was Gravely who scored, with a 1-yard touchdown run. James nailed the PAT kick and the Tigers led 15-0 after one quarter.
“We wanted to get a quick start and put our foot on the gas early,” Runner said. “It was good to get the early points and lead from the beginning of the game.”
Tech’s lead increased to 30-0 early in the second quarter. A Marcus Taylor interception on the first play of the quarter gave Tech solid field position on the Vikings’ 40-yard mark. Two plays later, Gravely scored on a 38-yard carry to make it a 23-0 advantage (James pass to Miguel Soto for 2.)
A 12-yard touchdown rush by Gaskin on Tech’s next drive upped the lead to 30-0 (James kick), but the Vikings didn’t quit. A pair of scores on keepers by Vikings quarterback Vinney Eramo, of 14 and 7-yards, sliced the deficit to 30-16 at halftime.
Eramo took another scamper, from 34 yards out, into the end zone to make it a one-possession game at 30-22 to open the third quarter.
“I told my coaches that this team (Nashoba Valley) is a championship team,” Runner said. “They made it this far because they deserved to be here. If they didn’t give us a fight, they didn’t deserve to be here. I give a lot of credit to Nashoba.”
Two minutes later, Gaskin returned an interception 75 yards for a much needed Tech touchdown (kick failed). After three quarters, Tech led 36-22.
Gravely, in proper fashion, sealed the victory with a pair of scores in the fourth quarter. His 5-yard run 30 seconds into the period boosted Tech’s edge back to three possessions at 42-22 (kick failed). With 3:30 remaining, Gravely capped the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run, his fourth of the night, for the 50-22 victory (Gaskin rush).
“It was big for us to finish that way,” Runner said. “We wanted to make sure we kept our foot on the gas. We knew when they brought it down to eight points that we had to score quickly. We didn’t expect Keoni to take the ball back on the interception but he did the job for us. That was a turning point in the game.”
Tech ends its season at 12-1, the most successful year the Tigers’ program has seen since it went 9-1 in 1977.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Runner said. “In about three weeks we’ll start thinking about lifting and the offseason but for now this really feels amazing.”
