RallyNorth.net

Power Players, October 29, 2007

Every Monday RallyNorth.net will salute bone-crunching linebackers, elusive running backs, immovable linemen and rocket-armed quarterbacks from the 37 area high school football teams. We've dubbed them Power Players and you won't want to miss who the best and the brightest were from the weekend's schoolboy gridiron action.

Bobby Tarr, Bishop Fenwick: Senior rushing machine was at it again Saturday, galloping for 230 yards on the ground and four touchdowns as the Crusaders downed host St. Mary's of Lynn, 33-22. Tarr has over 1,800 yards this season with three regular season games still remaining.

Masconomet's defense: In running their record to 8-0, the Chieftains only allowed visiting Amesbury within their 20-yard line once and were aggressive to the ball all night in a blowout 35-0 victory.

Rashad Sims and Greg Pierce, Beverly: Sims, a junior running back, and Pierce, a senior captain, combined to rush for 207 yards and a pair of scores as the Panthers stayed unbeaten in the NEC South with a 28-7 triumph at Marblehead.

Nick Hiou, Peabody: Junior running back had the best game of his career, rushing for 122 yards on 19 carries as the Tanners took Salem to overtime before losing, 20-14.

Cam White, North Shore Tech: Junior wideout had a game for the ages, catching eight passes for 203 yards and four touchdowns as the Bulldogs were nipped by Minuteman Regional, 28-27.

Justin Mitchell, Swampscott: Caught touchdown passes of nine and three yards, finishing the day with seven catches for 73 yards as the Big Blue held off host Saugus, 23-19.

Melikke Van Alstyne, Salem, MA: Junior tailback scored a 10-yard touchdown run -- his second of the game -- to cap off a 128-yard rushing night in the Witches' OT victory over host Peabody.

Anthony Enderle, Gloucester: Burly back rushed for 180 yards and had touchdown runs of 38 and 42 yards as the unbeaten Fishermen rallied to defeat Lynn Classical, 26-22.

Nate Masterson, Hamilton-Wenham: Senior captain caught a 10-yard touchdown pass, rushed for 45 yards, booted a pair of extra points and drilled a 34-yard field goal as the Generals downed Triton, 17-7.

Derek Coppola and Andrew McHugh, St. John's Prep:** Coppola, a senior tailback, rushed for 172 yards and two scores on 20 carries, including the game-winning TD with 35 seconds left, in the Eagles' 27-21 win at Catholic Memorial. McHugh, a junior fullback, added 70 yards on a dozen carries and coming up with a big catch to set up Coppola's winning score.

Kevin Hitchko, Andover: There weren't many highlights in the Golden Warriors' 42-29 loss to Chelmsford. But Hitchko did stand out at defensive back, tying for the team-high with six tackles, bringing his season total to 35, third best on the team.

Jason Buco, Brooks: Buco managed the game of his season, completing 8-of-16 passes for 215 yards and touchdown passes of 75 and 69 yards. But the Green and White still lost to Thayer 34-14.

Michael Filipon, Central Catholic: The senior reserve two-way lineman came off the bench and looked sharp in the Raiders' 43-0 win over Lowell with three big tackles and a fumble recovery. Fillipon, an honor roll student, is a rare two-way tackle/punt returner for the Raiders, known for his excellent hands, according to coach Chuck Adamopoulos.

Joe Esposito, Georgetown: Esposito rushed for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more as Georgetown cruised to a 27-0 win over Northeast. The junior quarterback had 88 yards on the ground and passed for another 149.

Yerison Cruz, Greater Lawrence Tech: The senior outside linebacker hunted Lynn Tech ball carriers relentlessly in Friday's battle of the unbeatens, won by the Reggies. Cruz finished the day with 8 tackles and three sacks.

Justin Cook, Haverhill: Cook was a bright spot for the Hillies. The receiver pulled down a pair of tough jump-balls, the second resulting in a 5-yard touchdown from Peter Byron, Haverhill's only score in a 31-7 loss to MVC power Billerica.

Gary Glines, Londonderry: Glines, a linebacker, led Lancers with six solo tackles and a pair of assists in their 22-13 loss to Nashua South.

Matt Bartlett, Methuen: Bartlett didn't have flashy numbers, but he did convert on consecutive passes late in the fourth quarter to bring the Rangers within a field goal of Nashua North. It wasn't enough, as the Rangers fell 26-17.

Kenny Kobierski, North Andover: With Newburyport driving towards the game-tying touchdown, Kobierski picked off Clippers quarterback Joe Clancy on fourth down at the goal line to secure the Scarlet Knights' 14-7 victory over Cape Ann League rival Newburyport.

Mike Lombard, Pelham: Lombard picked off a pass and ran it back 15 yards for the touchdown the helped secure the Pythons' 28-12 victory over Newport.

Chris Modlish, Pentucket: Lynnfield just couldn't escape Modlish. The halfback rushed for 105 yards on 13 carries and scored touchdowns of 9, 1 and 53 yards as the Sachems crushed the Pioneers 28-13.

Peter Mazzola, Pinkerton: The senior QB was 3 for 4 passing for 75 yards in the first half as Pinkerton rolled over Concord 41-14. But the average numbers belie the fact that the first and third completions were for long touchdowns, and the second set up a rushing TD. All those, by the way, in the space of 2:02 at the end of the first half.

Hal Landers, Salem, NH: Landers doesn't throw the ball much, but he is effective when he does. The senior QB was 6-of-9 throwing for 111 yards and a two-point conversion to Kevin Sledge in the Blue Devils' 27-14 win over Manchester Central. He also rushed for 25 yards, including a 13-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Nate Allen, Whittier: By the time the Greater Lowell Tech Gryphons saw him coming, it was already too late. When Whittier's Allen put a big hit on Greater Lowell's quarterback Ricky Sheehan late in the first half, the message was clear. Despite being down 14-6 at half-time, the Wildcats weren't going down without a fight.