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Strong second quarter lifts Whittier to victory

Saturday, October, 03 By Jeff Hamrick
Staff writer

HAVERHILL — While it is much too early in the football season to be crowning champions, one opposing league coach already is ready to hand over the title to Whittier.

"That team is the cream of the crop," Lynn Vocational Tech coach Gary Sverker said of the Wildcats, who had just pounded his previously undefeated Tigers 38-12 in the Commonwealth League opener for both schools. "It's the best team in the league."

And for one 10-minute stretch yesterday afternoon, Sverker wouldn't have found anyone to argue his contention. After a scoreless first period, Whittier (4-0) kick-started a wild second quarter with an 11-yard scoring pass from Dillon Ryan to Steve Surette.

"We have to play faster," Whittier coach Kevin Bradley said of his team's sluggish opening. "We're sitting back instead of moving. When the game started we sat there and tried to see if we could play with them instead of us taking the initiative and creating something. It usually takes us about a series to get going on both sides of the ball."

On their next possession, the Wildcats proceeded on a 12-play, 73-yard drive that consumed 5 minutes, 42 seconds and resulted in a 1-yard run by Donald Leighton, who also ran for the conversion that gave Whittier a 16-0 advantage with 3:21 left in the half. But Lynn responded 47 seconds later with a 20-yard run by Steven Caisse to make the score 16-6.

Whittier answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Leighton, capping a 58-yard drive that needed only three plays and 40 seconds. A 2-point conversion run by Nick Ferreira opened a 24-6 advantage. Lynn lost 9 yards on the ensuing kickoff return on a big tackle by Cameron Dubiel before the first of two interceptions by Shawn Mahoney one play later set up Whittier at the Tigers' 28.

This time the Wildcats needed only one play to increase their lead to 30-6 when Ryan and Surette again hooked up with 1:26 left before intermission.

"I think it was great on both sides of the ball that we were able to make things happen," Bradley said. "The defense got the ball to the offense quickly on fumbles and interceptions. But what was good about it was we were able to capitilize. And we did it quickly. We saw somethings we thought we could capitilize on ... We tried to get the ball to different people and keep (Lynn) off balance."

Lynn scored the fifth touchdown during the 2:32 stretch on a 30-yard pass from Richie Warren to Connor Bryson that made the score 30-12 with 49 seconds left in the second.

"The most important thing is our execution is getting better," Whittier coach Kevin Bradley said. "We're now getting to about midseason and we're not having the kind of mistakes we were having earlier. You have to make sure you're not making them now — especially when you're playing a 3-0 team."

The only scoring in the third quarter came on a safety when Whittier's Ryan Tragakis chased Lynn quarterback Dustin Rooney out of the end zone. The Wildcats used a tough defensive effort that limited Lynn to 9 yards on eight rushing attempts and just one first down — which came on a Lynn penalty early in the fourth — after intermission. For the game, Whittier ran 61 plays from scrimmage to Lynn's 34.

The final score was set up on Corey Gallo's second fumble recovery of the game that put Whittier at the Lynn 22. Two plays later, Jay Desjardins scored from 18 yards out on his only rushing attempt of the game.

"You want to make (opposing teams) make the mistakes and we did," Bradley said. "They had some big mistakes with fumbles and interceptions and penalties. I think we looked pretty balanced."