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Manchester Essex no stranger to late-game heroics

Friday, October, 19 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

Manchester Essex head football coach Mike Athanas gathered his players at midfield after last Saturday's win over Whittier Tech and told them that he thought they were a special team.

How could he think otherwise?

After Saturday's win, the Hornets record stands at 5-1, with four wins coming in the last minute of play.

The Hornets have defeated Pope John 27-26 on a stuffed two-point conversion try with under a minute remaining. They would then defeat Lynnfield, 21-14, in overtime after being down 14-0 with four minutes to play. Three weeks later Manchester knocked off Greater Lowell, 23-22, in a game that the Hornets took the lead with under two minutes to play, and then made a goal-line stand with no time remaining. And just last week, the Hornets beat Whittier Tech, 35-28, by scoring a touchdown with under two minutes to play.

"These games have shown that we aren't giving up and that we are playing four quarters," said Athanas, whose team takes on winless Northeast Regional tomorrow on the road (2 p.m.). "Fortunately, we have been able to come out on top in these close games."

It's not just what the Hornets have done on the field that has Athanas impressed.

"It's also great considering what we have been through this season," Athanas said. "We have not practiced on a full football field all season and the travel has been tough, but we have kids coming to practice early every day and working extra hard on special teams. The way they have come together as a team really says something about their character." Junior captain and quarterback Pat Orlando, who has led three fourth-quarter comebacks, said the games have brought a lot of enthusiasm to the team.

"This season has been really exciting," said Orlando, the North Shore's leading signal-caller with 974 yards passing and 11 touchdown throws. "Being in a lot of close games has brought a lot of emotion and passion to the team."

Even more remarkable is the fact that a number players have come up big when the team needed it most. Linebacker Jack Bishop and the Hornets defense teamed up to stuff Pope John. Orlando and Sam Cohen, the team's split end and senior captain, teamed up to defeat Lynnfield. Orlando and Cohen would hook up again, along with Clayton Morrissey's blocked extra point and the Hornets defense, to help defeat Greater Lowell. And, finally, sophomore running back Brian Ciccone caught the winning touchdown to knock off Whittier Tech.

"Different kids have been coming up big every week, which really shows our balance," Athanas said. "It has been 11 guys making plays when we need it most all season long." The Hornets ability to put a bad drive behind them has been paramount to their success. Every time an opponent grabs momentum from them, they take it back.

"When a drive does not work we don't even think about it, which has helped us a lot," Orlando said. "Instead of dwelling on a bad drive we think about going out there and doing our jobs on the next drive."

Athanas credits an explosive offense with the momentum shifts.

"We are pretty confident that we can score from anywhere on the field," Athanas said. "We know that no matter how much time is left in the game that we can get the ball in the end zone."

While the Hornets offense has been getting most of the credit, the defense has come up equally as big with numerous key stops to get the Hornets the ball back.

"Our defense has made some huge plays," Cohen said. "The offense gets credit but without our defense, the offense wouldn't even be in a situation to succeed."

All in all, the Hornets are happy to come out victorious in so many close situations, but they hope to leave no doubts as to who will win for the remainder of the season.

"Every time you win a close game it's very exciting," Cohen said. "But it's also a trend that we don't want to get into much more. We want to put teams away a lot earlier." Still the Hornets will take the wins any way they can get them. They believe that the momentum they have gained from these wins will carry them through the second half of the season, which features four games against fellow Commonwealth small opponents.

"We have built up a lot of momentum in the first half of the season," Orlando said. "It's going to get us through the rest of the year. We are going to keep doing all of the good things that we have done in the first half."