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Whittier goes on the attack, rolls Shawsheen

Saturday, October, 25 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

HAVERHILL - With as patient an offensive gameplan as you'll find, Whittier Tech pounds you with rhythmic monotony.

There was no such patience on defense yesterday, with the Wildcats facing "the game," in the Commonwealth Large division against Shawsheen Tech.

Charging in hordes all morning, Whittier piled up seven sacks and picked off a pair of passes, dominating what amounts to be a championship elimination battle with the Rams, 24-7.

"We went after the quarterback today, that was our goal," said Whittier coach Kevin Bradley. "We knew they would try to throw the ball. We wanted to flush that quarterback, get that quarterback on the run. That's the way to get to their passing game.

"We commited more guys to the rush and came at them from all different angles."

With the win, the Cats, now 5-2 overall and 2-0 in CAC large play, own the inside track to the EMass playoffs, needing to beat only 3-4 Lynn Tech and 2-5 Greater Lowell to qualify.

Shawsheen had its moments, but the negative yards (47) constantly derailed possessions.

Meanwhile, Whittier chewed away on offense until ripping off the big one.

"Whenever Whittier and Shawsheen get together, it's like Texas and Oklahoma," said Bradley. "It's a big one. The title always seems to be on the line when we meet. It's going to be physical. We know we're going to be hit, and we have to make sure we respond with them. That's what we did."

Senior halfback Bryan Trickett burst 65 yards to paydirt on the Wildcats' second play from scrimmage, setting the tone for the matinee.

Shawsheen grabbed a temporary lead of 7-6, but the downhill bulldozing of Trickett (17 carries, 171 yards, 3 TDs) and Carlos Candelario (13 carries, 92 yards) were much too much for Shawsheen to handle.

"We First touchdown I had, I just saw Pat Scheidegger and followed him," said Trickett. "They were doing it all day long up front."

Defensively, Whittier was all over the field.

Don Leighton and Nate Allen had the interceptions, while Trickett, Allen, Ryan Tragakis and Corey Gallo all shared the wealth in the sack exchange.

Afterward Bradley beamed at the effort, considering his club was on the wrong end of a 43-16 decision to Manchester just one week ago.

"It was easy to get over it, because we took last week off," said Bradley. "We never showed up."

Next week, Whittier heads to Greater Lowell for a 3 p.m. kickoff.