LYNN — Friday night featured two Commonwealth Athletic Conference programs, frankly, itching to win a game in the midst of productive, yet frustrating seasons.
Nashoba Valley Tech has only lost games by single digits this fall, while Lynn Tech’s last victory came in September.
You could feel the urge to win at Manning Field, and 48 minutes later, the Vikings (4-3) threw the monkeys off their backs.
But in the 35-22 final, Tech (3-4) took something out of it, too.
“Overall, I can’t say I’m proud to lose, but I’m proud as a coach,” Tech’s James Runner said.
That’s because the first half didn’t go as planned, according to a frustrated Runner postgame, whose Tigers trailed 29-0.
Running back Dan Keith rushed for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Nashoba after two quarters.
“In the first half, my kids were just trying to look in the backfield and look where the ball was going. That’s not what we do,” Runner said. “We shouldn’t have given up the four touchdowns. That was something we didn’t want to happen.”
Tech committed two turnovers, and had just three possessions.
But on the Tigers’ first drive of the second half, Ethan Prum (127 rushing yards) bolted for a 51-yard gain before a rushing touchdown two plays later – a telling chapter of the book to follow.
“I’m proud of Ethan. He came out here in the second half and said, ‘Coach, I’m ready,’” Runner said. “We did a good job of giving him the rock.”
Nashoba fumbled four plays into its next drive – recovered by Alberto Gerardo – and momentum flipped towards the hosts.
Jacob Garcia of the Tigers responded with a touchdown (29-14), but Nashoba rushed for one of its own to end the third quarter (35-14).
With Tech desperately in need of a big play, quarterback Jadiel Ortega (65 passing yards) obliged, finding Prum (54 receiving yards) for a 28-yard gain in the fourth.
“They have a good connection. They do it at practice and they’ve been working on it,” Runner said. “They continuously compete with each other. They compete every single day.”
Five plays later, Ortega took it himself to cut the lead to 35-22 with 7:09 remaining.
The rain dampened things for the crowd, but another Nashoba fumble – this one recovered by Tech’s Tahrynce Thompson – woke the fans back up.
“I expected my kids to play in the first half like they did in the second half,” Runner said. “My kids would not go down… that’s what made me proud.”
That said, Tech came up short on a fourth-and-goal, and the comeback bid came to an end.
Lousy weather and all, Runner was all smiles postgame.
“At the end of the day, I’m not upset with the kids because of the effort they gave me at the end of the game,” Runner said.
Nashoba travels to face Lowell Catholic next Friday at 7 p.m., while Tech hosts Whittier at 4 p.m. the next day.