RallyNorth.net

Sat, Oct 31, 2009 01:00 PM @ Tewksbury

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Methuen	7	7	0	6	20
Tewksbury	0	7	0	0	7

Carroll, Methuen on the 'Money'

Saturday, October, 31 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

TEWKSBURY — With some wild wind howling and Cal Carroll's penchant to carve up defenses on the run, Tewksbury coach Brian Aylward stacked the line and dared Methuen to air it out.

Carroll simply dialed up Raudy "Money" Minaya, and the Rangers escaped Doucette Field with a 20-7 victory here yesterday.

"Raudy has the ability to catch the ball, we'd like to be able to get it to him more," said Ranger coach Pat Graham. "Down in the end zone, he's tough, a big basketball player, who can jump."

The junior Minaya caught five balls for 87 yards and a pair of pretty TDs in the win from Carroll, who finished the day a tidy 10 of 14 for 114 yards.

"Cal threw me a couple really good balls," said Minaya. "It's nice because we've really been a running team. Teams are thinking we don't have a passing game. It's nice to show that we do."

Methuen, now 6-2, struck immediately when outside linebacker Matt Delmonte forced an errant option pitch then pounced on it at the Redmen 16.

Four plays later, Carroll barrelled in from the 4 for the quick 7-0 advantage.

Tewksbury answered with a 30-yard Tyler Brice TD catch from Kevin Saunders, who filled in admirably for injured starter Sean Connolly.

"They were a little handcuffed in what they could do," said Graham. "Give them credit, though, they played us tough. Any win here on a Saturday afternoon is a good win."

Facing a pivotal drive with 3:26, Methuen found its best stride.

John McCarthy ignited things with a kick return to the Ranger 40, and Carroll clicked with Minaya on a deep fade for 29 and halfback Nick Bourgoin (18 rushes, 74 yards) for 14 more.

A pair of red-zone penalties gummed up the works, but on 3rd-and-goal from the 11, Carroll cashed in with Minaya in the corner, making it 14-7 at the break.

With the Rangers settling in and swarming defensively, Tewksbury managed just 30 yards of offense after the break.

Meanwhile, the Rangers blunted any potential threats with interceptions by Mike Lima and Jeff McAndrew.
The outcome was still in doubt, right until about the midpoint of the fourth when the Rangers, in business at the

Tewksbury 29 thanks to Lima's pick, went to that familiar well once more.

"They played man with eight guys in the box," said Minaya, who laid out on a fade for his fifth TD grab of the year. "Cal usually throws it up in practice, and I usualy come down with it. It was fourth-and-10, so we had to make a play."

Every November snap now carries serious implications for the Rangers, now basically in a virtual tie for first in the MVC small.

The Rangers, who currently have 6 points, can add one with a win Friday night against Central.

 

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Sorting out the MVC Races

The Merrimack Valley Conference has a unique scoring system which grants teams two points for a win in the division and a point for any crossover wins.

Here's where each contender stands in both divisions as the November stretch run awaits:

MVC Large

Central Catholic (8 points) - Faces Methuen in a 1-point game Friday then closes with 2-point games vs. Billerica and Andover.

Billerica (6 points) - Has 2-point games left Friday at Andover, then at Central and finally at home vs. Chelmsford.  

 Andover (5 points) - Can still win the league but must sweep 2-point games with Billerica, Lowell and Central.

MVC Small

Methuen (6 points) - Has 1-pointer with Central next week and can assure that it plays for a title on Turkey Day vs. Dracut by beating Lawrence in two weeks.

Dracut (5 points) - Plays what amounts to an elimination game at Lawrence Friday night then hosts Haverhill and Methuen, all for two points.

Lawrence (5 points) - Lawrence has only two league games left, but a Dracut-Methuen double for the Lancers would send them to the playoffs.