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Back from injury, Ortiz paces Reggies

Thursday, November, 10 By David Willis
Staff writer

WEST ANDOVER — He was soaking wet, freezing cold and cover from head to toe in mud. But there wasn’t a happier person in the Merrimack Valley than Marcos Ortiz last night.

“After all I’ve been through,” he said, “this was breathtaking.”

Playing in his first game since the season-opener when he suffered a dislocated ankle, Ortiz rushed for two touchdowns and the key two-point conversion to lead Greater Lawrence to a 14-8 victory over previously-undefeated Blue Hills in the Reggies’ first night game at Gleason Field since the 1999 season thanks to the use of rented lights.

“I’m so proud of Marcos,” said teammate and close friend Yamarco Guzman. “He knew coming back wasn’t going to be easy. But you saw him running over people out there. He’s back.”

Ortiz had not stepped onto the field since the second quarter of the opener, when he was sacked and suffered the dislocated right ankle, having to be taken from the field in an ambulance.

“If you saw what happened, you’d say he was done for the season,” said Reggies coach Tony Sarkis. “I thought so. But he was at every practice, throwing the ball from his wheelchair. He did everything he had to do to make it back.”

Finally late last week, Ortiz was given the clearance from his doctors to play this week.

“It felt amazing” said Ortiz. “My doctors and coaches had no idea if I would come back. I was on the sidelines for eight weeks, so it was great to play again.”

Ortiz made his mark early. After faking a handoff he took the ball on a bootleg, kept his feet on the mucky field and scored. He then added the two-point conversion on another scramble.

“He ran right over a kid,” said Sarkis. “Those are the little things that Marcos brings that make all the difference. That two-point conversion was huge.”

But he wasn’t done there. With the score tied 8-8 and 8:58 to go in the game, Ortiz ran a quarterback sneak in from a yard out to give Greater Lawrence the 14-8 final margin.

“I just ran as fast as I could and had to get in,” said Ortiz. “My teammates did their job while I was out, so I wanted to give it back. I am finally back where I belonged.”

Guzman and the defense then locked up the victory with a pair of turnovers. First, Guzman recovered a fumble, then a possession later he clinched the win with an interception.

“On the fumble I saw John Augusta coming in to knock it out and I knew I had to jump on the ball fast,” said Guzman. “Then on the interception I saw the ball go up, knew I was wide open and I knew I was going to get it.”

Carlos Aquino and Jean-Carlos Jarib also made big plays for the Reggies, who became the first team to hold Blue Hills was held under 24 points this season. It was also just the third time it was held under 30.

“Our defense has just been outstanding,” said Sarkis. “We have relied on them all season and they have continued to come up big.”