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Rivera keeps Greater Lawrence rolling

Saturday, November, 15 By Steve Palladino
Staff writer

WEST ANDOVER — If Angel Rivera was going to decide the outcome, he knew that it would take a blessing from above.

“Before I got the ball, I just prayed to my parents,” said Rivera of his mother and father, who have both passed away. “I pray to them all the time.”

The prayers were answered for Rivera.

With two minutes remaining in yesterday’s meeting with Shawsheen and Greater Lawrence down by three, Rivera scored on a fourth-and-goal from the two to put the Reggies ahead.

Moments later, his 29-yard interception return for a score sealed a 21-10 win yesterday morning.

“Once I got that opportunity, I knew I had to hit the hole hard,” said Rivera, who led the Reggies to their fourth straight win after a poor start to the season. “Juan Olivo (a 260-pound guard) opened it up for me and I was able to get in.”

That was Rivera’s only carry on the seven-play drive that started when a critical defensive stand forced Shawsheen to punt from its goal line.

The punt went out of bounds at the Rams’ 31 and Wadscar Gomez (30 carries, 108 yards) grinded out 29 yards to set up Rivera’s run.

The key to the victory proved to be the defensive stand in the fourth quarter. That led to a punt and eventual game-winning score. Shawsheen went four and out on a drive that started on its own 3 after a Greater Lawrence fumble.

“They could have folded up after that but they showed the true character of this team,” said head coach Tony Sarkis, who guided the Reggies to a Super Bowl title last fall. “This is a different team since they started playing together.”

The Rivera rushing touchdown was the only offensive score for the Reggies. After the Reggies were held scoreless in the first half, Joseph Pizzuto took the opening kickoff in the second half and went 90 yards for a touchdown.

“It seemed like we were just a step behind most of the game and missed our chances,” said Wadscar Gomez in reference to two drives stalling inside the red zone as well as a turnover and blocked punt.

“We just kept getting beat and we had to stop slacking,” said Rivera. “And since we stopped slacking (a few weeks ago), we have won four in a row.”

The Reggies will meet Lawrence in a night-before-Thanksgiving game at Lawrence Stadium (6 p.m.).