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2008 Power Players, Week 11

Brian Miller, Andover: The sophomore basketball standout continues to grow as a receiver. Against Methuen, the 6-foot, 170-pounder made two catches for 45 yards and a 25-yard touchdown from John Hennessy (200 passing yards).

Zak Adamopoulos, Central Catholic: The senior defensive lineman made a pair of sacks and registered two other tackles behind the line of scrimmage as the Raiders lost a defensive struggle to Chelmsford 12-5.

Jaymie Spears, Georgetown: The quick and nifty two-way sophomore rushed for a 39-yard touchdown, finishing with 76 yards on six carries, caught an 8-yard TD pass and had two receptions for 33 yards while grabbing an interception and recording a tackle for a loss among seven stops in the Royals' 27-26 loss to Newburyport.

Angel Rivera, Greater Lawrence: in the final 1:55 of the game, the junior rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Reggies the lead, then picked off a pass and scrambled 29 yards to the end zone for the score that clinched the Reggies’ 21-10 win over Shawsheen. 

Ramon Heredia, Lawrence: The senior threw for a pair of TDs, 50 and 55 yards to Demetri Brown, and ran six times for 76 yards and three scores as Lawrence routed Haverhill, 46-12.

Adam Bardwell and Joey McLaughlin, Londonderry: Bardwell was the man in the first half, carrying 21 times for 89 yards and a touchdown. After he left the game, McLaughlin took over and carried 16 times for 94 yards and the 56-yard touchdown that nearly iced the upset.

Jason Silva, Londonderry: It was a big, and rather unusual, day for the junior in the near upset for the Lancers. In the first half, he recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and hauled in an on-side kick that led to Londonderry’s first touchdown. In the second half, he picked off Pinkerton QB Ryan Simpson twice.

Jason Doyle, Methuen: With Andover driving late, the sophomore defensive lineman stuck his hands up and pulled in the interception that clinched the Rangers’ 20-16 victory, their first .500 season since 2002 and first above-.500 MVC season since 1998.

Joenrry Acosta and Pat Phillion, Methuen: After Andover took a 3-0, the pair struck. Acosta caught a pass from Matt Bartlett and scampered 65 yards for a touchdown. Then, just 1:12 later, Phillion fielded a punt and took off for a 65-yard touchdown of his own. Acosta had 83 yard receiving and Phillion had 30.

Darren Hartwell, North Reading: He has done everything asked on him and more, playing receiver, running back and finally quarterback the last two weeks. Against Amesbury, who will play for the CAL small title on Thanksgiving, the senior rushed 23 times for a whopping 205 yards and touchdowns of 2, 12 and 53 yards in the 42-21 loss. He also returned five kicks for 117 yards.

Joe DeAngelo, Pelham: Rain? What rain? Though he didn't have to throw much in a 28-6 Division 5 semifinal win over Kearsarge, DeAngelo's tosses had impact. The junior connected with Wayne Parisi for 25 yards on second-and-22, converted a long third down to Josh Luciano for 10 yards, then capped the day with a 40-yard bullet to Luciano for a third-quarter touchdown. DeAngelo also had no trouble handling the ball, pulling in an interception.

Andrew Keegan and David Wesson, Pelham: Holding a solid Kearsarge offense to just six points is a team effort, but this pair were a cut above. Keegan had six tackles, one for lost yardage, and forced a first-quarter fumble with a hit so huge it could be heard across the field. Wesson's blind-side pass rushing was almost unstoppable as the senior racked up three sacks, two in a row on Kearsarge's last drive, for minus-21 yards.

Nick Mottola, Pentucket: When the Sachems needed yards in their 33-14 win over North Andover, the 185-pound left guard delivered. Two fourth-down quarterback sneaks netted first downs behind Mottola while the senior delivered the definitive blocks on two of Pentucket's three rushing touchdowns.

Austin Perreault, Pentucket: With two fumbles on kicks, one lost to North Andover, Perreault didn't get off to a great start. But he sure finished well. The junior busting off a 46-yard romp on his first offensive call, Perreault setting up the Sachems' first score en route to a eight-carry, 88-yard effort in victory.

Colby Verge, Pinkerton: The senior carried the ball only TWICE in the game. But those rushes happen to go for touchdowns of 43 and 40 yards, the latter with 44 seconds left to give the Astros a 19-15 win and a trip to the Division 1 championship game. Heading into the day, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder had only one career rushing touchdown and 174 career ground yards.

Colton Desmarais, Pinkerton:  The game’s most memorable moment will be the senior defensive back holding the ball over his head in celebration after his late interception clinched the win over Londonderry and a trip to the title game But Desmarais also made a team-high nine tackles as the defense tightened in the second half.

Nick Lawrence, Timberlane: The sophomore showed he more than belongs with the big boys in Saturday's Division 2 semifinals, running hard on five second-half carries for 27 yards. A versatile performer, Lawrence delivered a couple of big hits in the kicking game and also had a highlight-reel 68-yard punt return, which was nullified by a block in the back penalty flag.

Matt Burke, Whittier: With star runner Bryan Trickett playing exclusively on the defense as a result of nagging injuries, senior Mat Burke came up huge with 137 yards on 12 carries (11.4 average). Burke capped a 7-play, 35-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and the highlight of the game came on his 58-yard scamper to set up the Wildcats' first score, a 12-yard Dillion Ryan keeper.