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Adames, Reggies looking for return to proud past

Tuesday, September, 04 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

WEST ANDOVER | Back in the fall of 2004, Nate Adames and his freshman classmates were about the only thing Greater Lawrence Tech boys athletic boosters could rally around.

The varsity team had plummeted deep into the abyss, finishing at 0-10 and the usually strong boys hoop and baseball teams were treading water.

But Adames, then the starting quarterback for the freshman team, and his mates represented hope. Behind Adames' 12 touchdowns, they went 7-0 and were hardly challenged.

“To this day, we talk about that team,” said Adames, who rushed for 1,051 yards as a junior last season to lead the Reggies to a 5-6 mark. “Sure, everyone else is bigger, better, faster, so are we. This is it. This is the year that matters. It’s the year to prove we belong. It’s our year.”

Adames has made sure his teammates have paid the price in hopes the Reggies can enjoy their first winning season since the 10-0-1 1998 club won the Eastern Mass. Division 5B Super Bowl title.

“Since July 5, we’ve barely taken a day off,” said the returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star halfback, who helped the Reggies put in the past the difficult 2004-05 seasons, when they were a combined 1-20. “Weight-lifting, working out, camps, we’ve all been busy. No slacking off.”

After a trip to the full-contact Offense-Defense camp in Rhode Island, he spent a week at Merrimack College, trying to open the eyes of small-college coaches.

“That Offense-Defense camp was tough. There were kids from all over, Montana, Puerto Rico, everywhere,” said the 5-9, 170-pound Adames.

He put his carpentry shop work on hold to focus on training this summer, although he says with a laugh he did earn a “sandwich expert” badge for working the counter so adeptly at the downtown Andover Dunkin' Donuts.

Even now, the coop job will wait.

“It’s all about football and this team,” he says.

Born and raised in Lawrence, Adames understands the storied past of Reggies football. He’s heard the lore from his coaches about playoffs, championships and Super Bowl appearances (1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1987, 1974) past. And the names. Jason Nardella, Rod Cruz, Ray Marshall, Bo Morales ...

“I would definitely like to be considered with those guys,” said Adames. “But to have the kind of year like those guys had would take an awful lot ... heart, dedication, and a ton of help from my teammates.”

Most importantly, it’s going to take victories. The potential is there.

First, with Adames, who only became the fulltime Reggies tailback in Week 4 last year. Before that he was mainly a quarterback. A preseason injury, a badly dislocated finger in a scrimmage with North Shore last fall, turned out to be a blessing as coach Tony Sarkis found a second quarterback option in the Jonathan Dellossantos.

And sizing up holes behind the lead blocks of bruiser Victor Sosa, Adames made opposing defenses pay. “He has the chance to be thought of with those guys,” said Sarkis. “He’s got to keep working, but yeah, he’s got a chance to be great.”

So far, the offseason work seems to have paid off. “We had a scrimmage with Methuen recently,” said Reggies’ offensive assistant coach Frank Quintana. “They pretty much shut us down on offense, but every once in a while Nate broke one off, and they really had no answer for his speed.” Friday night at Triton, Nate and his mates, now seniors, will look to re-write history. They will look to repeat their freshman exploits.

“We talk about it all the time. We used to be nasty,” said Adames.

The next three months will prove if the Reggies and Adames can be again.

Reggie Royalty

Greater Lawrence Tech has been Running Back High. Here are the school's 1,000-yard runners in the last 20 years:

2006: Nate Adames - 168 carries - 1,051 yds - 9 tds

2003: Kelvin Morales - 195 carries - 1,136 yds - 9 tds

2002: Melvin Gomez - 205 carries - 1,112 yds - 11 tds

2001: Melvin Gomez - 195 carries - 1,118 yds - 17 tds

1999: Chi Chi Vasquez - 178 carries - 1,144 yds - 17 tds

1998: Bo Morales - 252 carries - 1,454 yds - 29 tds

1995: Ken Dimmock - 158 carries - 1,076 yds - 12 tds

1994: Ray Marshall - 189 carries - 1,621 yds - 20 tds

1993: Ray Marshall - 1,400+ yds - 20 tds