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Six TDs from Musumarra in Central victory

Saturday, October, 16 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

LAWRENCE — Central Catholic unveiled its version of the Wildcat yesterday. No one could have predicted the good things that would result from a seemingly simple addition.

Running back Trae Musumarra broke in the new formation on Central’s first possession, combining three carries with a Red Raider penalty for six points. But more importantly, the early involvement jump-started his entire game. Finishing with 162 yards rushing and six touchdowns offensively, and a team-high 11 tackles as a linebacker defensively, Musumarra was immense as the Raiders held off a pesky Lowell squad, 40-32.

“Coach (Bob) Jowett was talking about it with the other coaches and they decided to put it in (last Monday),” the senior said of the berth of the Wildcat. “It was much easier to see everything. You could see the holes much better.”

“We wanted to get him the ball more,” said Central head coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “I know a lot of guys get talked about as great players in (the Merrimack Valley Conference), but Trae should be as well,” said Central head coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “He’s a great linebacker, an awesome running back, and, more importantly, a great leader. He was a clutch player for us (yesterday).”

A clearly energized Musumarra showed great versatility, picking his way behind effective blocking from tackles Ryan Barry and Manuel Suarez on one play, then blasting his way straight through Red Raider linebacker Tom Weza on another end zone jaunt. Punctuating his squad’s first three drives with touchdown carries, Musumarra helped Central jump out to a quick 19-0 advantage.

“We needed offensive players to be able to decide to step up and make plays,” Musumarra said. “We let our defense down (the week before in a win against Haverhill) so we stepped up.”

Lowell, with its hyperactive spread offense triggered by junior R.J. Noel (276 offensive yards with two rushing touchdowns and three scoring passes) and some productive special teams play, was able to hang close under yesterday’s blustery conditions. A Noel 4-yard TD run, a blocked punt from John Crowe, and a Noel-to-Josh McGlouflin scoring connection closed a 19-point lead to six in less than two first-half minutes.

But quarterbacks Ben Onett and Matt McDermott made smart decisions in alternating possessions for the Raiders, and Musumarra cashed them in. The 190-pounder dragged linebacker Ryan King three yards to cap a 17-yard TD run to end the third quarter, then wrapped up a 45-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run to secure the victory at 40-19.

“The offense, I thought, clearly won us the game,” Adamopoulos said. “The defense (which yielded 328 yards) was good in spots but we had a few lapses where we got undisciplined. We’ve got to do better than that against Lawrence (on Friday) because they’ve got a lot of speed and can keep you off-balance like Lowell did.”