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DRACUT — It looked as if Methuen would finally tie up its Thanksgiving day rivalry with Dracut — which the Middies led heading into Thursday 26-25-3.

HAVERHILL — Midway through the first quarter Thursday morning, Greater Lawrence junior Donnie Croteau grabbed a beautiful spiral from quarterback Jose Caceres in the end zone for the apparent first touchdown of the game.
Only to drop it.
“I had it in my hands and brought it into my chest and it popped out,” said Caceres. “I felt bad. I had to redeem myself.”
Croteau did just that on the next possession, hauling in a long pass from Caceres and outsprinting the coverage for an 85-yard score, sparking the Reggies to a convincing 41-14 before about 350 fans at Whittier Tech.
That opening TD was just the start of a first-half aerial assault for Croteau and the Reggies. He caught another touchdown pass, from 10 yards out with 16 seconds left before halftime, and had four catches overall for 191 yards.
But Caceres, who missed two games in mid-season with a bad knee sprain, had other targets as well and he found them with regularity in the first half as he completed 12 of 20 passes for a whopping 299 yards and four touchdowns as the Reggies took a 28-14 lead at intermission.
Leading rusher David White had four receptions for 98 yards, Ronaldo Arias caught four passes for 41 yards and a score and Steven Polanco scored on a 15-yard catch. Whoever was open, Caceres found him.
The Reggies’ aerial success — at least to that degree — was something that Whittier coach Kevin Bradley had not anticipated.
“We wanted them to pass, that was our goal,” said Bradley. “We wanted to stop them from running the ball so we had guys up there.”
Said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis: “They had eight guys in the box so we had to take advantage of it and pass the ball. Our coaches did a good job of recognizing that.”
Caceres, who finished the day with 345 yards through the air and also rushed for 33 yards, responded, if perhaps reluctantly, to the challenge.
“I like running the ball more but I saw a lot of guys open and had to help out my guys,” he said.
In the second half, the Reggies (7-5) played it more conservatively. While holding Whittier to just 13 yards of offense, they stuck to the ground and scored once in each quarter, first on a 22-yard run by senior David White and finally on an 11-yard scamper by freshman Vinny Schmidt.
After the Reggies’ third straight Thanksgiving romp over Whittier, White was given the game ball for his both his offensive (189 yards of total offense) and defensive contributions from his linebacking spot. He got plenty of defensive help from the likes of Croteau, Humberfy Contreras and Malib Pastrana.
“This was a good way to end the season,” said Sarkis. “Our kids know the rivalry and they come to play.”
Whittier (6-5) did move the ball in the first half, scoring on a Julio Joubert 10-yard run and a 24-yard pass from Kevin Bradley to Mark Lamele but their first drive of the game, deep into Reggie territory, ended with a fumble. In the second half, they ran only 14 plays and only three went for positive yardage.
“We had a great first half but missed some opportunities,” said Bradley. “But we just couldn’t get anything going in the second half. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Unfortunately for Whittier, Bradley may be saying the same thing next year. Several key players — including juniors Caceres, Croteau, Polanco and Ader Mezidor — will be returning, causing one Greater Lawrence assistant to state that the Reggies should be playing in Foxboro next year in the state finals.
“We should be pretty good next year, but we have to stay focused and keep working at it,” said Sarkis.
 

BYFIELD — A Thanksgiving victory was exactly what Triton craved as it looked to close out its late-season turnaround.

NORTH ANDOVER — Quad-captain Joe Roffer had one message for his North Andover teammates as they prepared to take the field in front of an enthusiastic Thanksgiving crowd.

“Before we started I looked at the guys and I said, ‘At the end of this game, I want to be holding that trophy up,’” said Roffer. “I want it in my hands.”

LAWRENCE — Ryan Burns knows full well nothing is guaranteed in football. He watched when his injured older brother, Kyle, had to sit out his senior year at Central Catholic.

So the brawny Irishman from Danville felt blessed. The Raiders took it to Lawrence, 44-20, before about 500 fans on a beautiful Thanksgiving morning. He had family at Veterans Stadium and he was getting hugs left and right from pretty classmates. And in his final football game of his career, Burns was named the Raiders' game MVP (Michael Sullivan Award).

DURHAM — For a few moments, it looked as if Pinkerton had turned the momentum.

Trailing by two touchdowns midway through the first quarter, Astros QB Aiden Goujon dropped back and floated a perfect pass to wide open Ty Hicks. The speedy halfback did the rest, cruising into the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown.

GROTON — No matter how hard they tried, Phillips could not stop Tony Muse.

The freshman Lawrence Academy back ran wild for over 300 yards and a whooping six touchdowns, leading the Spartans to a commanding 56-7 victory over Phillips in the Kevin Fleming Bowl.

MARLBORO — Assabet Valley scored on its first drive of the game and never trailed Friday night in a 26-12 victory over Greater Lawrence in the state Vocational Bowl Large  division playoff semifinals.

NEW HAMPTON, N.H. — With the game still in doubt as the clock ran down, Pat Freiermuth made certain that he would end his high school football career on top.

“The coaches send me on an ‘X’ (blitz) and the quarterback made a late read,” said the Brooks senior from Merrimac. “I just went in and stripped it. I knew it was over then.”