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Whittier Wildcats Football '17

Thu, Nov 23, 2017 10:00 AM @ Whittier
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Greater Lawrence 7 21 6 7 41
Whittier 0 14 0 0 14

Reggies win through the air

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HAVERHILL — Midway through the first quarter Thursday morning, Greater Lawrence junior Donnie Croteau grabbed a beautiful spiral from quarterback Jose Caceres in the end zone for the apparent first touchdown of the game.
Only to drop it.
“I had it in my hands and brought it into my chest and it popped out,” said Caceres. “I felt bad. I had to redeem myself.”
Croteau did just that on the next possession, hauling in a long pass from Caceres and outsprinting the coverage for an 85-yard score, sparking the Reggies to a convincing 41-14 before about 350 fans at Whittier Tech.
That opening TD was just the start of a first-half aerial assault for Croteau and the Reggies. He caught another touchdown pass, from 10 yards out with 16 seconds left before halftime, and had four catches overall for 191 yards.
But Caceres, who missed two games in mid-season with a bad knee sprain, had other targets as well and he found them with regularity in the first half as he completed 12 of 20 passes for a whopping 299 yards and four touchdowns as the Reggies took a 28-14 lead at intermission.
Leading rusher David White had four receptions for 98 yards, Ronaldo Arias caught four passes for 41 yards and a score and Steven Polanco scored on a 15-yard catch. Whoever was open, Caceres found him.
The Reggies’ aerial success — at least to that degree — was something that Whittier coach Kevin Bradley had not anticipated.
“We wanted them to pass, that was our goal,” said Bradley. “We wanted to stop them from running the ball so we had guys up there.”
Said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis: “They had eight guys in the box so we had to take advantage of it and pass the ball. Our coaches did a good job of recognizing that.”
Caceres, who finished the day with 345 yards through the air and also rushed for 33 yards, responded, if perhaps reluctantly, to the challenge.
“I like running the ball more but I saw a lot of guys open and had to help out my guys,” he said.
In the second half, the Reggies (7-5) played it more conservatively. While holding Whittier to just 13 yards of offense, they stuck to the ground and scored once in each quarter, first on a 22-yard run by senior David White and finally on an 11-yard scamper by freshman Vinny Schmidt.
After the Reggies’ third straight Thanksgiving romp over Whittier, White was given the game ball for his both his offensive (189 yards of total offense) and defensive contributions from his linebacking spot. He got plenty of defensive help from the likes of Croteau, Humberfy Contreras and Malib Pastrana.
“This was a good way to end the season,” said Sarkis. “Our kids know the rivalry and they come to play.”
Whittier (6-5) did move the ball in the first half, scoring on a Julio Joubert 10-yard run and a 24-yard pass from Kevin Bradley to Mark Lamele but their first drive of the game, deep into Reggie territory, ended with a fumble. In the second half, they ran only 14 plays and only three went for positive yardage.
“We had a great first half but missed some opportunities,” said Bradley. “But we just couldn’t get anything going in the second half. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Unfortunately for Whittier, Bradley may be saying the same thing next year. Several key players — including juniors Caceres, Croteau, Polanco and Ader Mezidor — will be returning, causing one Greater Lawrence assistant to state that the Reggies should be playing in Foxboro next year in the state finals.
“We should be pretty good next year, but we have to stay focused and keep working at it,” said Sarkis.
 

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

GL — Donnie Croteau 83 [ass from Jose Caceres (Franklin Morales kick), 2:29

Second Quarter

GL — Ronaldo Arias 8 pass from Caceres (Steve Polanco run), 10:46

W — Julio Joubert 10 run (Thomas O'Mahony run), 8:59

GL — Polanco 15 pass from Caceres (Morales kick), 5:37

W — Mark Lamele 24 pass from Kevin Bradley (run failed), 1:28

GL — Croteau 10 pass from Caceres (run failed), 0:16

Third Quarter

GL — David White 22 run (run failed), 7:20

Fourth Quarter

GL — Vinny Schmidt 11 run (Morales kick), 7:59

 


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Gr. Lawrence (31-136) — Jose Caceres 13-33, David White 16-92, Ader Mezidor 2-11; Whittier (17-60) — Julio Joubert 8-47, Corey DeFusco 3-8, Thomas O'Mahony 2-3, Kevin Bradley 4-2

PASSING: Gr. Lawrence — Caceres 13-23, 349; Whittier — Bradley 8-14-0, 93

RECEIVING: Gr. Lawrence — White 4-98, Ronaldo Arias 4-41, Donnie Croteau 4-191, Steve Polanco 1-15; Whittier — Michael McAuliffe 1-15, Joubert 3-(-6), O'Mahony 2-52, Mark Lamele 2-32

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