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HAVERHILL — Talk about sending a message.

METHUEN — Quarterback Eric Lacroix took a moment to pick a large chunk of mud out of his facemask as he pondered the game.

"I thought we were right there," said Lacroix. "But they made the big plays when they had to, and when we needed to we just didn't."

LAWRENCE — Don’t be fooled by those 42 points Central Catholic put on the scoreboard last night. Good as the offense played, led by quarterback Matt McDermott (11 carries, 196 yards, 2 TDs), it was the defense that stood out in a 42-14 whipping of Billerica. Yes, Billerica was missing star quarterback Nick LaSpada, but the Raiders (5-5) were so aggressive on defense that even LaSpada might not have made too much of a difference. Right from the get-go, the Raider defense was in synch. It stopped the Indians on three downs to start the game, leading to a John Bilsky blocked punt that gave the Raiders the ball on the Billerica 3-yard line and a quick 7-0 lead courtesy of a 3-yard McDermott run. Another three and out for Billerica, led to a 70-yard drive capped by a 20-yard scoring run by senior Devon Lattrell, making it 14-0. One play from scrimmage later, Dan Kfoury made it 21-0 with a 20-yard interception return. “I was excited to get that,” said Kfoury. “The last few weeks I’ve had some opportunities, but haven’t been able to get any (interceptions). We were ready for anything and the defense played well for three quarters. I think we’ll carry it over.” Billerica (7-3) did rally for 14 points to make it, 21-14 at halftime, but the Raider defense dominated in the second half. In those last two quarters, Billerica managed just 20 yards of total offense and gave up another defensive TD when Brad Marggraff returned another interception for a touchdown, this time from 92 yards. That interception was made possible by a shoestring tackle by Lattrell on Matt Clifford following a 75-yard kickoff return. From his outside linebacking spot, Lattrell was a pest all evening and the interior line of Ryan Barry, Ben Tavitian and Patrick Hammond were huge in both stopping the run and pressureing sophomore fill-in quarterback Jordan Bolarinho. In addition to his interception, Kfoury chipped in with two tackles for loss. “I thought our defense really came through in the second half after we fumbled twice (early in the third quarter),” said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “The strength of our defense has been our line and it played well again. We needed this and hopefully we can carry it over to Thanksgiving (against Andover). “I was disappointed we didn’t play against  LaSpada — he’s one of my favorite players. We weren’t sure what to expect without him.”

See video highlights and interviews from Andover's upset victory over Billerica.

ANDOVER — Andy Coke briefly considered attempting a 98-yard sprint for his third touchdown of the day, but instead stepped out of bounds and adding a pump of his first.

“I was thinking about taking it to the house,” said Coke with a laugh. “But I didn’t want to be that guy. I sprinted as fast as I could to make the pick, and that was awesome.”

BILLERICA — As much as he might have thought his Lancers let one slip through their grasp on a mud-caked Calabrese Field, Lawrence High football coach Mike Yameen had reasons to be enthused.