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Lawrence narrowly denied first win

LYNN — Lawrence thrived with its backs against the wall Saturday afternoon at Manning Field in Lynn.

Unfortunately for the Lancers, their biggest problem may have been the lack of time-keeping in overtime.

Tied 14-14 after regulation, quarterback Angel Abreu took the first snap and ran it for a 10-yard score, but was stuffed on the two point try. The Lancers got Lynn English to third down from the 4-yard-line, but Ishmile Bangura ran it in on the next play and then punched in the conversion attempt to give the Bulldogs the 22-20 victory.

“We’re fighting but we can’t get an ounce of luck this year,” said Lawrence coach Mike Yameen. “The balls just not bouncing our way. But we just have to keep working. We one more game before Thanksgiving to get better.”

Despite the loss, Lawrence (0-9) had the flare for the dramatic Saturday afternoon. Down 8-0 with one second left in the second quarter, Abreu took a keeper 44 yards to the house to tie the game up at the break. Then, down 14-8 with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Abreu found Dylan Montanez down the left sideline for a 37-yard touchdown strike that sent the game into overtime.

The Lancers openly welcomed the return of Abreu, who was one of the teams few senior leaders but has been injured the past few weeks with an ankle injury.

Lawrence started its final drive in regulation at the 9-yard-line, but Abreu powered ahead for a 40-yard gain on the first play to give the Lancers some life. He finished with 115 rushing yards on 10 attempts, and threw for 83 yards and a touchdown. Abreu started the year as the team’s feature back, but a slew of injuries at the quarterback and long-snapper position have hurt Lawrence all season.

“It was a big lift to have him back,” said Yameen. “He’s probably our seventh quarterback this year and we’re down to our fourth long-snapper. We couldn’t even attempt a PAT after we scored for the win because we got guys practicing and practicing but we’re down to our fourth guy at the snapper spot.”

Lawrence did have another strong game defensively, forcing two turnovers and coming up with a big fourth down stop when Lynn English was at the 1-yard-line.

The Lancers will have one more game next week before their Thanksgiving matchup with city rival Central Catholic.