RallyNorth.net

Reggies recovered season ends in loss

Thursday, December, 01 By Jeff Hamrick

BRAINTREE — A season that began in horrifying September tragedy, ended last night for Greater Lawrence not quite as joyously as the Reggies had hoped.

And when the season-ending 17-14 defeat ended, the Reggies had one last shout out for their fallen comrade.

Greater Lawrence began the 2011 campaign less than a week after sophomore Max Montanez was killed along with his sister and mother in an alleged domestic disturbance shooting. The Reggies, who not only wore No. 72 patches on their helmets and jerseys but also finished each game with a a “Max B” shout in honor of Montanez, had some late-season disappointment, but even with last night’s State Vocational Bowl loss to defending champion Greater New Bedford shouldn’t dampen the satisfaction in a nine-win season under trying circumstances.

“I told them ‘Let’s be proud,’ ” Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis said. “The season’s not based on one game. They’re 9-3 and played very tough, and we’re proud of them.

“I didn’t expect (the success) when we began with Max and everything that was going on, and with our injuries, there was no way I’d say we’d be here. It’s been a fun surprise. The kids really stuck together. And that’s what this whole season was about. They played as a team all year to finish 9-3.”

Stymied offensively most of the evening, the Reggies shrugged off a first-half that saw them run 15 fewer plays with only one first down. Taking the second-half kickoff, Greater Lawrence needed only four plays to go 78 yards, the final 56 on a play-action pass from Marcos Ortiz to Jonathan Montero streaking down the middle. Ortiz ran for the two-point conversion, diving over the pylon to cut the deficit to 14-8.

But after a New Bedford field goal, the Reggies were unable to score again until an Ortiz sneak capped nine-play, 80-yard drive with 2:36 left.

“We win as a team, we lose as a team,” Sarkis said. “We made some mistakes on both sides of the ball today. New Bedford came to play and they made some plays.”

A couple of the biggest were forcing three Greater Lawrence fumbles. Two of those led to New Bedford’s second touchdown early in the second quarter and another resulted in a 20-yard field goal that gave the Bears a 17-8 lead with 4:31 left in the third.

Greater Lawrence finished with only 151 yards of total offense, including 46 on 27 rushing attempts. The defense did its share as Ryan Caredeo, Guillermo Vargas and Carlos Aquino each recovered fumbles and Yamarco Guzman added an interception.

“If there is anything positive that we got out of this it’s that they stuck together,” Sarkis said. “They relied on each other, they did the things that are right in life, and they finished the season they way they should’ve finished it — as a team ... The adversity didn’t matter to these guys.”