RallyNorth.net

Reggies defense makes final stand in 28-22 victory over Northeast

Friday, October, 22 By Christopher Smith
Staff writer

WAKEFIELD — Tony Sarkis never questioned the trust in his Greater Lawrence defense.

“We said, ‘We’re either going to win the game or lose the game right here,’” said Sarkis. “ We got stopped. It was close. But then the defense came through. When it counted, we came back and stopped (Northeast).”

After a failed fourth-down attempt, Northeast took over at the Reggies’ 32-yard line. But the Greater Lawrence defense made a final key stop and the Reggies posted an impressive 28-22 victory.

On fourth-and-8 with 1:50 left, Northeast went for a halfback pass into the end zone. But Reggies defensive back Yamarco Guzman broke it up, jumping in front of Thurell to knock the ball down.

“Coach told us, ‘Just stay home and do what you’ve got to do and just play one-on-one,’” Guzman said. “I thought I could have had the interception, but hey, I’d rather have the team win. That’s better.”

Sarkis added, “He’s another underclassman who stepped up. We knew that was coming. They ran it against Shawsheen. We had two guys out there. He (Guzman) made a great play on the ball.”

The defense remained confident on that the final series — even after it had just allowed Northeast a 58-yard scoring drive in the fourth that made it 28-22.

“We had to stop them,” he said. “We knew we couldn’t let them win. We’ve been looking forward to this game. We were trying to make a statement and I think we made it.”

Joey Pizzuto finished with 22 carries for 129 yards. Quarterback Jean Carlos Gomez completed 5 of 8 passes for 98 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Jake Barchard, who caught two passes for 74 yards.

“He’s got all the potential in the world,” Sarkis said of Barchard. “He has everything he needs to be to be an outstanding player. We’re very proud of him today. He did a great job.”