LYNN — Tech football coach James Runner was short of words after Friday night’s game against Greater Lawrence.
“I usually have a lot to say,” Runner said. “Tonight I don’t have much.”
The Tigers, who were bounced from the Division 8 North state tournament last week, turned the ball over five times and couldn’t stop Greater Lawrence’s running game in a showing they’d like to soon forget. The end result was a 36-8 Tech loss at a rainy Manning Field.
“The Reggies just wanted it a little more than we did tonight,” Runner said. “Overall our enthusiasm was down, our effort was down in the first half. We had a better effort in the second half. Overall I think a lot of our kids lost the wind of their sails when Greater Lawrence scored to start the third quarter. That’s when it went down on our side.”
The Tigers, which had just 50 yards of offense in the first half, didn’t have many positive moments during Friday’s game. Senior quarterback David Barrios scored the lone touchdown of the game on a 15-yard scramble in the fourth quarter and running back Chance Buono added the 2-point conversion on a carry. By then, Greater Lawrence had already scored 36 points and held full command.
Greater Lawrence quarterback Jose Caceres was the star of the game for the Reggies. Caceres scored three touchdowns, all on carries, and caused headaches for Tech’s defense throughout the night.
“We gave (Caceres) about 35-40 yards as far as offensive runs,” Runner said. “(Mezidor) is also a good running back. I know a lot of those kids because we do a lot of things in the offseason with Greater Lawrence. I think Caceres ran for about 140 yards. We gave them the ball on the plus-40 three times and that didn’t help either.”
Caceres opened the scoring with a 3-yard plunge to the end zone toward the end of the first quarter (PAT failed). Barrios intercepted a Reggies pass, on their 2-yard line, on Greater Lawrence’s next possession. Three plays later, Greater Lawrence stuffed the line of scrimmage and added a safety to bump its lead to 8-0. Caceres scored on a 12-yard carry and added the 2-point conversion to give the Reggies a 16-0 lead at halftime.
Things didn’t get any better for the Tigers in the third quarter. Greater Lawrence scored three touchdowns (Caceres 7-yard rush, Shamil Diaz 20-yard rush and Adier Mezidor 50-yard rush), turning a 16-0 game into a 36-0 rout.
Tech marched the ball down to Greater Lawrence territory midway through the fourth quarter with help from a pair of Reggies penalties (pass interference, facemask). Barrios cashed in with his 15-yard touchdown run (Buono rush on PAT) to get Tech on the board with 5:59 remaining. It was too little too late, however, as Tech’s 36-8 deficit was much too steep to climb out of.
With the loss, Tech dropped to 6-4 this season.
The Tigers now await word on the MVADA Tournament. Pairings will be announced next week. If Tech doesn’t qualify for the vocational tournament, the Tigers will close the season Wednesday, Nov. 21 against KIPP Academy at Manning Field.
“We’ll get ready for a vocational playoff game or we’ll get ready for KIPP Academy (Wednesday night before Thanksgiving),” Runner said. “The plan is to finish with either seven or eight wins. That’s what we’re going for.”
