RallyNorth.net

Junior Nate Godin came alive with 16 points on four 3s to help Central Catholic earn its first win of the season, 61-41, over Brighton. Xavier McKenzie led the Raiders with 20 points.

WOBURN — Kyle Moore had already proven deadly from 3-point range.

But his final 3-pointer, with the clock ticking down Friday, was not only was the biggest of his young career, but one of the most memorable shots in North Andover history.

Grace Efosa scored 20 points as Whittier surged to a 20-5 lead on its way to a 49-20 victory over Brighton.

BRIGHTON — Kyle Bythrow dominated on the ground and through the air as North Reading picked up a 31-8 season-opening win over Brighton on Friday.

Bythrow rushed for 191 yards on 17 carries and also went 7 for 11 with 90 yards and three touchdowns through the air. His first was a 30-yard touchdown pass to Lionel Beane in the first quarter, followed by a 28-yard strike to Jake Bedell. Both touchdowns were followed by successful two-point conversions, making it 16-0 going into halftime.

Freshman standout Ariana Cruz ended her season going 3 for 4 and had a two-run homer in her last at-bat, but it wasn't enough as the Greater Lawrence's softball team lost to Brighton 7-4 in the Division 3 North quarterfinals.

WEST ANDOVER - In what proved to be a good tune-up for its matchup against Whittier on Thanksgiving, Greater Lawrence fixed some mistakes from last week in a 46-6 win over Brighton Saturday afternoon. The Reggies (7-3) took care of business last week against Madison Park, but allowed a few big plays resulting in points. Coach Tony Sarkis challenged his guys to eliminate those mistakes; a message that his team took to heart. Brighton (4-6) only had 110 yards of total offense, and Greater Lawrence allowed only two plays of 10 yards or more. "I'm proud of them," said Sarkis. "I put that challenge out to them after last game to get rid of our mistakes. I think we only had three penalties today. We want to continue to play the rest of the season with mistake-free-football." Greater Lawrence took the lead on its first play from scrimmage when Ojany Belliard bounced outside the tackles for a 54-yard touchdown run, his first of four TDs on the day, all coming in the first 16 minutes of the game. Belliard scored twice more in the first quarter, and quarterback Kyle Vasconcellos connected with wideout Aaron Goulet to complete a 30-point opening quarter outburst that put the game out of reach. Belliard entered the day 31 yards behind Pinkerton back Brett Dattilo for the area rushing lead. The junior added 164 more yards on the ground to bring his season total to 1,325 yards and 19 total TDs. The Reggies backs were able to get wide running lanes thanks to the dominant play of the offensive line. On the other side of the ball, the Reggies recorded eight tackles for loss. "I think we gel perfectly," said Sarkis. "They fight off the ball great, and they played a fantastic game today." Edgardo Garcia had six tackles and forced a fumble in slightly more than a half of action. "I just told him that that was the best game I've seen him play in his four years here," said Sarkis.  He had help from fellow linemen Ramon Montas, Jarred Garcia and Tyler MacDonald and David White added an interception.   

BOSTON — There was no surprise what North Andover High was in for last night — an uphill battle.

It didn't take long for Greater Lawrence to hijack the postseason's first upset.

With Jeremy Torres continuing his late-season rampage, the seventh-seeded Reggies went on the Division 5 playoff road to down second-seeded and previously unbeaten Brighton last night 22-12.

Christian Taveras (14 kills, 3 blocks) and Andy Henriquez (28 assists, 3 blocks) led the way as fourth-seeded Lawrence won 3-0 over 13th seeded Brighton in the first round of the  Division 1 North volleyball tournament.