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Despite loss, Haverhill's future looks bright

Thursday, November, 25 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

LOWELL — The building blocks for 2011 were put in place.

Despite a season-ending 38-21 loss to Lowell before 1,200 Cawley Stadium fans, extending its winless skein to 32 games, Haverhill made strides toward a positive future.

The Hillies scored the most points in a game this season. They had a 100-yard rusher (senior Malcolm Novello with 123 yards and a touchdown) and a 100-yard passer (105 yards and a TD from sophomore Tom Morgan) in the same game. But, more importantly, Haverhill had possession of the ball late in the third quarter with a chance to take the lead. That happened when senior linebacker Mac Milewski tipped a Kyle Edwards pass and junior Taylor Sullivan intercepted it, returning the ball to the Hillie 48-yard line with 1:48 left with Lowell on top, 24-21.

But the Red Raider defense stiffened behind a huge effort from linebacker Cam Santos (two sacks and three other tackles for lost yardage), and Lowell posted a 1-yard Juan Rodriguez TD run and a Ryan Garrigan 63-yard pick-six in the final quarter to lock down the victory.

“When we intercepted the ball, we thought we had momentum, we were going to go in and score and end this game,” Haverhill head coach Tim O’Connor said. “But give Lowell credit. They didn’t give up, they didn’t cave, and we couldn’t accomplish our goal in the end.”

A physical effort from a revised Hillie defense led by linebacker/nose guard Aaron Moisan (two sacks, team-high seven tackles) kept Lowell off balance.

“We just came into the game with a lot of intensity,” said the junior. “We wanted to win for our seniors and we worked our hardest.”

Unfortunately, field position became a burden for the Hillies as Lowell started five drives in Haverhill territory, netting 24 points on those possessions.

“It’s been the story of our year,” O’Connor said after yielding two turnovers and committing three costly personal foul penalties. “It’s young mistakes we need to clean up in the offseason.”

Five different Red Raiders found the end zone with the arm of senior Kyle Edwards (9 of 16 for 147 yards and two TDs) leading the way.

Haverhill never led, but Novello’s sparkling 21-yard run to the end zone on the last play of the first quarter tied the score at seven. Later, Morgan’s play-action fake opened up David Herook for a 48-yard TD pitch-and-catch while 34 yards from Novello set the stage for a 3-yard Chance Brady jaunt to the end zone as both scores closed the Hillies within three points in the third quarter.

“From Week 1 to Week 11, we are a much, much better team,” O’Connor concluded. “We put in whole new offense and defensive schemes and it’s been trial and error for a little while early on, but we’ve finally found spots for players that fit better for the team. The foundation is set — 18 of our 22 starters are back — and, hopefully, preseason starts next Monday for us.”