RallyNorth.net

Reggies glide to victory

Saturday, November, 07 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

BILLERICA — Despite a 2-6 record, Shawsheen has been rolling up over 20 points per game behind standout tailback Cory Foss. Greater Lawrence Tech is cooking due to tailback Joe Pizzuto’s 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Yesterday in Billerica, both defenses were able, for the most part, to subdue these big pieces of their respective offensive puzzles. However, the Reggies had a Plan B in fullback Angel Rivera and a Plan C when their defense also rattled the Rams’ passing game into three turnovers. Shawsheen had no other options on either side of the ball.

Gliding away to a 30-7 victory, Gr. Lawrence remains on the periphery of the Commonwealth Conference Large pennant race with a 2-1 record, 7-2 overall.

Pizzuto was still able to generate some numbers (141 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns) but was stuffed for three yards or less on 15 of those attempts.

With Shawsheen overly focused on the diminutive junior, senior Rivera stepped up with 100 yards on only five carries. His 58-yard romp to the end zone on the first play of the second half gave the Reggies huge momentum, a 23-7 lead, and was part of a run of 17 unanswered points.

Also, quarterback Juan Carlos Gomez hit on a pair of key passes to 5-11 wideout Anthony Ocasio during a two-minute drill at the end of the first half that yielded a 29-yard Paul Menjivar field goal.

"We have to develop that more and more as we come down to the end of the season,” Gr. Lawrence head coach Tony Sarkis said. “Angel had a great game reading blocks and Juan Carlos got more comfortable throwing the ball.”

Menjivar was also tested as a scoring option, coming up just short on second-half field goal attempts of 45 and 41 yards.

And empowered with the lead, the Reggie defense rose up and kept the Rams out of the end zone. Even though Foss had a good statistical day (172 yards on 25 carries), he only found the end zone once and could only generate yardage between the 20s.

From there, senior quarterback Kevin White felt the heat of the Gr. Lawrence rush, harried into a pair of interceptions, sacks from Lewis Mendoza and Juan Olivio, and a 4-of-17 day for just 73 yards.

"I listened to my coaches saying, ‘Lewis, Lewis, go, go, go!’, said Mendoza, a senior defensive end. “I just kept my focus and went 100 percent.”

"It’s going to come down to defense,” Sarkis said. “Come this time of year, defense makes it.”
With a strong Lynn Tech team looming on the road Saturday night, Mendoza summed up the atmosphere surrounding his Reggie teammates.

"We’re in the playoffs already, we can’t lose any more games. Nobody can beat us, only ourselves. We’ve got to play as a team, listen to our coaches and do what they tell us to do. Then we’ll be all set.”