RallyNorth.net

Mon, Sep 29, 2008 03:00 PM @ Whittier

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Greater Lawrence	0	6	6	0	12
Whittier	22	8	6	0	36

Whittier rebounds, bests Greater Lawrence

Monday, September, 29 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

HAVERHILL — Whittier learned its lessons well.

Assessing the tapes from a tough loss to Central Mass. power Narragansett the week before, Wildcat head coach Kevin Bradley and his staff didn’t see a lot to panic about. “It was execution, we were just off on a block or two,” he explained. “Simple mistakes.”

Well, those mistakes were repaired and an inexperienced Greater Lawrence Tech team bore the burden in a 36-12 setback that was over well before halftime.

“We’re in a learning process and we’ve got to keep progressing,” said Reggie head coach Tony Sarkis on a team missing many of the weapons used to capture a Super Bowl title last December.

Senior Brian Rivera, who didn’t even start on offense, became Greater Lawrence’s best producer with 68 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns but it was far from enough to keep up with the ‘Cats.

In fact, due to a smothering Whittier defense that produced four turnovers and three quarterback sacks, the rest of the Reggie “attack” lost 33 yards.

Bryan Trickett contributed to one of the turnovers, snagging a first quarter flair pass and turning it into a 33-yard pick-six as part of an impressive overall effort with three touchdowns.

“Thanks to defensive coordinator Jim Carlson, we knew it was coming by how they lined up,” Bradley said. “We worked on it in practice and Bryan didn’t hesitate. He stepped up and went for the ball."

Just 20 seconds before the interception, the senior wingback connected with quarterback Dillon Ryan on a 14-yard scoring pass. Then he wrapped up his end zone exploits with three minutes left in the first half, using crushing blocks from Josh Oliver and Damian Colman to clear the path on a 43-yard scoring jaunt.

Senior wingback Carlos Candelario (8 carries for 75 yards) opened Whittier’s scoring three plays into the game on an easy 49-yard sprint down the right sidelines. Fullback Tyler Page (7 attempts, 81 yards) wrapped up Whittier’s scoring midway through the third quarter, rumbling untouched 37 yards for a 30-point lead at the time.

In typical Bradley fashion, many players were given the opportunity to succeed and did on both sides of the ball. Backup safety Steve Surette registered a pair of interceptions while junior starter Don Leighton added one of his own. Colman, Frank Muraco and Matt Burke each had sacks with Colman adding a forced fumble and another stop for a 15-yard loss to his resume. Offensively, 13 players registered carries for the ‘Cats.

“The coaches pushed and challenged the kids and they responded,” Bradley concluded. “We got the offensive line moving and the defense making sticks. They were hungry and learned from last week."

Now Whittier, whose players were given today off to rest and recuperate, have a short turnaround before traveling to play Mystic Valley Friday evening.