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Lawrence shows promise in season-opening loss

Friday, September, 08 By Kyle Gaudette
Staff writer

LOWELL - The start of Lawrence's season was straight out of a Stephen King novel.

Two muffed snaps led to a safety just two minutes into the Lancers' traditional season-opening game against rival Lowell, and it looked as if the woes of last season's winless campaign didn't go far.

But then kicker Mussett Mezidor bounced the free kick down the sidelines from one 20-yard-line to the other to swing field position. Four plays later, Ronyell Pena took an interception 30 yards to the house to get the Lawrence sideline in a frenzy.

The Lancers fed off that energy all night. But Lowell made more plays on offense, riding senior back Anthony Doung (29-248, 2 TDs) to an eventual 32-17 win Friday night at Cawley Stadium.

"We battled," said Lawrence coach Mike Yameen. "It was a one-score game in the first half. Both teams had a lot of penalties. We got some turnovers but we needed to take better advantage of those. It was a tough game, but they battled."

The senior Mezidor showed off an impressive boot. He twice forced Lowell into a touchback on kickoffs, and most impressively nailed a 42-yard field goal to give Lawrence a 10-2 lead.

Then after a Doung touchdown, senior quarterback Ronny Pena connected with Andre Wilson on a 49-yard bomb to make it 17-9 Lawrence late in the first quarter. The Lancers showed promise on offense in the first half, but were unable to crack the scoreboard after the first quarter - mustering only 18 yards of offense in the second half.

Lowell led 22-17 at the half, and 25-17 after three. It appeared that Lawrence brought itself within a 2-point conversion of tying on a 70-yard touchdown pass, but a holding penalty negated the play.

Junior Brandon Santell was a standout on defense for Lawrence. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder came up with a sack, stuffed a 4th-and-1 run up the middle and dished out multiple bruising tackles.

"He's a junior, two-year starter. He's the captain of our defense. He runs things," said Yameen. "He had a good game."

Senior Ruben Morillo and Pena were all over the field in the secondary, both making big tackles in the open field on loose Lowell backs.

Lawrence will try to get in the win column at Dracut Friday at 7 p.m. Some good vibes for the Lancers: Dracut was the team's last win back on Oct. 16, 2015 (17 straight).

"We're going to be alright," Yameen said.