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Adames hurt in Reggies' victory

ANDOVER | Possibly a high price to pay for an easy victory.

Dominating an outmatched and winless Minuteman squad on route to an eventual 40-8 victory, Greater Lawrence Tech' s standout running back Nate Adames suffered a knee injury late in the first half that required him to be carried off the field. He stayed for the remainder of the contest, using crutches with ice on his left knee.

"Nate twisted his knee a little," Greater Lawrence head coach Tony Sarkis said about the injury, suffered after Adames fumbled at the Minuteman 4-yard line with 45 seconds left and the Reggies ahead, 32-0. "He'll have to be looked at after this weekend."

When asked late in the ball game, Adames simply said, "I'll be back Monday (for practice). It doesn't even hurt now."

Until then, Adames and his blockers were in synchronous motion. Following his well-drilled linemates, the shifty senior bobbed and wove his way to 229 yards and five touchdowns on only 16 carries. The scoring jaunts, all in which he went untouched, covered 17, 7, 13, 26 and 68 yards.

In just four games, Adames now has amassed 977 yards on 94 attempts and 13 TDs.

Right guard George Cruz, frequently found 10 yards downfield blocking safeties to clear Adames' path, is enjoying the successes of the running game.

"The team has matured in the three years I've been here and us seniors are stepping up," Cruz explained. "The coaches make it easy for us (to run the offense) because we know what we have to do. It's a combination of everything, an all-around effort."

Even reserve tailback Brandan O'Neil benefitted from the prowess of the front six. On 12 straight carries, half behind the first string line, the junior rolled for 78 yards and the Reggies' final score from 5 yards out.

Greater Lawrence (4-0) suffered from lax periods against the Mustangs, including a pair of turnovers and three major penalties, one that took points off the board at the time. But with an offense that could only muster 12 first-half yards, Minuteman just didn't have the horses to compete.

"We don't want our kids to get complacent," Sarkis said of the best Reggie start since their unbeaten campaign of 1998. "This is a good place to learn how to play these games."