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Haverhill clinched MVC Small title with defensive dominance

Saturday, October, 18 By David Willis
Staff writer

HAVERHILL — It was Haverhill football’s motto from the first day of camp to the fourth quarter on Saturday.

“This is our time!” they yelled.

The words were screamed in celebration in the greatest of times, and for motivation when the going was rough.

And with their goal within reach, the Hillies made that mantra a reality.
Led by a dominant defensive effort that turned in three interceptions and forced three turnovers on downs, and an offense that did just enough, Haverhill shocked the Massachusetts high school football scene by defeating defending Division 3 Super Bowl champion Tewksbury 10-0.
With the victory, the Hillies clinched the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 2 title, the program’s first league title since tying for the MVC crown in 2001.
“This is honestly the pinnacle of my life to this point,” said defensive back and kicker Patrick Yale. “We have been working for four years to earn this, so it is the greatest feeling I could imagine. We didn’t listen to the doubters. We came out every day, worked and played for each other. Now we are MVC small champs.”
Haverhill now stand at 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the MVC Division 2. Tewksbury is 3-1 in the league, but with just one contest remaining for each school the Hillies own the deciding tiebreaker.
“I won’t lie, this is pretty emotional,” said burly defensive lineman/fullback Samie Al-Ziab, who needed a moment to wipe away tears and compose himself. “All the hard work, all the blood and sweat has paid off. And to give coach O (Tim O’Connor) this as his 40th birthday present a few (four) days early makes it even better.”
It is the newest peak in Haverhill football’s turnaround from 0-11 in 2010 and 4-7 in 2011, the freshman year for this team’s seniors.
“We have been dreaming of this,” said linebacker Phil Panici. “When the program was down, we dreamed of building it back up. We dreamed of being the group that brought Haverhill back to the top, so I can’t imagine anything better. It’s like a dream. I can’t even believe it.”
Of the many heros for the Hillies on Saturday, the breakout star was senior defensive back Daniel Surrette, who twice intercepted Redmen QB Brett Morris, the first to help set up the game’s lone touchdown and the second in the end zone to kill Tewksbury’s best scoring opportunity of the second half.
“To do this for the city that has been waiting so long for a football title is really special,” said Surrette, who was awarded a game ball. “I’m not going to lie, we were nervous. But we knew we could win, and we had to win. I felt like I could have a breakout game, but to have it happen in a day like this is amazing.”
The rain that pelted the field throughout the morning had cleared up before game time, but the contest hardly started in promising fashion for the Hillies.
After forcing Haverhill to punt on the opening drive, Tewksbury took the ball methodically down field, reaching first-and-goal from the 10-yard-line.
But Panici and Matt Haskell each made stops at the line of scrimmage, and on fourth down Lucien Chretien stuffed 2013 Super Bowl hero James Sullivan for a short gain and a turnover on downs.
Haverhill, employing its smash-mouth double-wing offensive attack, then delivered a 19-play, 95-yard drive — the biggest a 26-yard pass from Broghean McGovern to Ian Kessel — and Yale finished it off with a 29-yard field goal.
Tewksbury responded with a drive to the Hillie 25, but Haverhill safety Casey O’Sullivan snagged the ball for a pick to close out the first half 3-0.
The Indians again threatened to start the second half, driving to the Haverhill 39-yard line. But that was when Surrette struck, intercepting Morris and running it out to the 35.
Two plays later, superstar fullback Al-Ziab broke through the line for a 49-yard gain, and tacked on the score on his next rush, a 4-yard touchdown.
That proved to be more than enough offense, as the Hillies’ defense did not relent.
Surrette ended the next drive with an interception off a tip from O’Sullivan, Yale squashed another drive by knocking down a pass and Adam Kann killed the Redmen’s final chance with a sack.
“The defense was just playing out of its mind,” said Al-Ziab, who also rushed for a game-high 108 yards. “This is a team that was averaging about 30 points a game, and we shut them out. The line was great, Panici was running around slamming people and Danny made some huge plays.”
Led by Panici’s 14 tackles, the Hillies allowed just 177 total yards to the Redmen, 74 of those coming on the ill-fated first drive of the game.
“The defensive line dominated and that allowed us as linebackers to roam around an make plays,” said Panici. “That was a huge difference from last year. Yale and Dozie (Onwuka) were shutdown corners and that took us to the promise land.”
The Hillies now close out the regular season by traveling to North Andover on Friday, before turning its attention to the playoffs.
“It’s like a dream,” said Panici. “We are going to enjoy this because it has been a lot of dedication. Then we are going to get back to work.”