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Lowell Red Raiders Football '12

Fri, Nov 02, 2012 07:00 PM @ Andover
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Lowell 7 7 13 15 42
Andover 8 14 6 7 35

Turnovers sink Andover

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Friday, November, 02 By David Willis

ANDOVER — In a battle that could prove crucial in the race for the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 title, Andover broke the cardinal rule of winning football.

The Golden Warriors turned the ball over, and it hurt them in a big way.

“We told the kids that the only team that can beat us was ourselves,” said Golden Warriors coach E.J. Perry. “And the turnovers cost us.”

Andover turned the ball over five times, all fumbles, and that proved the difference in a heartbreaking 42-35 loss to MVC Division 1 rival Lowell last night.

The Golden Warriors now fall to 8-1 on the season, and 1-1 in MVC Division 1 play. They now need to win their final two games, at Billerica next week and hosting Central Catholic on Thanksgiving, for a shot at a postseason berth.

“We couldn’t get our offense going because of the fumbles,” said Perry. “It is one of those things today. Some nights you turn the ball over, and it overshadowed some big performances.”

Andover led 28-14 early in the third after C.J. Scarpa connected with Will Heikkinen on a 35-yard touchdown. But the tenacious Lowell defense beat up on the Golden Warriors from there. The Red Raiders returned one fumble 9 yards for a touchdown, then took the lead on another turnover a possession later.

“We work on creating turnovers all the time in practice,” said Lowell coach John Florence. “It’s part technique and part luck, and we had both tonight.”

Playoff picture: Andover’s loss makes Central Catholic the front-runner in the MVC Division 1 race. The Raiders are at 3-0 in the league, with just Andover to go. Lowell is 2-1 in the conference.

NFL pedigree; Lowell tight end Jack Galvin, the son of former Boston College star and NFL player Blake Galvin, certainly made his father proud last night. The junior caught 16 passes for 127 yards and four scores, including the winner with 1:04 left. He was the only Lowell player to catch a pass in the second half.

 Receivers keep rolling: While the defense struggled and backs battled to hold onto the ball, Andover’s star receiving duo of Cam Farnham and Will Heikkinen kept shining. Farnham caught six passes for 96 yards and two scores, including the go-ahead TD with 3:43 left. Heikkinen grabbed eight passes for 140 yards and one score, and made a terrific over-the-shoulder catch to set up Farnham’s late score.

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

A — Cam Farnham 49 pass from C.J. Scarpa (Cam Davey pass from Scarpa), 5:44

L — Jack Galvin 45 pass from Cam Latta (Zach Noel kick), 3:38

Second Quarter

A — Jack Sylvester 48 run (Will Heikkinen pass from Scarpa), 7:14

L — Galvin 36 pass from Latta (Noel kick), 4:51

A — Scarpa 1 run (rush failed), 2:27

Third Quarter

A — Heikkinen 35 pass from Scarpa (pass failed), 9:54

L — Ngaiiva Mason 5 run (Noel kick), 5:30

L — Shyheim Cullen 9 run (pass failed), 1:36

Fourth Quarter

L — Galvin 20 pass from Latta (Galvin pass from Latta), 5:38

A — Farnham 6 pass from Scarpa (Oliver Eberth kick), 3:43

L — Galvin 10 pass from Latta (Latta run), 1:04

 

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: A (30-209) — Jack Sylvester 22-204, C.J. Scarpa 8-5; L (48-263) — Cam Latta 29-181, Ngaiiva Mason 16-67, Shyheim Cullen 3-15

PASSING: A — Scarpa 18-28-0, 280; L — Latta 17-28-1, 141

RECEIVING: A — Will Heikkinen 8-140, Cam Farnham 6-96, Sylvester 3-36, Cam Davey 1-8; L — Jack Galvin 16-127, Tom Smith 1-12, Anthony Consolo 1-2  

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