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Greater Lawrence Reggies Football '19

Thu, Dec 05, 2019 06:00 PM @ Greater Lawrence
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Assabet Valley 6 6 0 14 26
Greater Lawrence 7 8 13 8 36

Diaz, Greater Lawrence win Voke Large Bowl title

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Thursday, December, 05 By Jeff Hamrick
Staff writer

WEST ANDOVER — Less than two weeks after a state semifinal defeat, and one week after an equally disappointing Thanksgiving Day loss, Greater Lawrence closed out its season Thursday night with a bowl game victory.
 
Returning to the helm after missing a game with a concussion, quarterback Shamil Diaz threw a touchdown pass on the Reggies’ first play from scrimmage and accounted for a couple more scores as Greater Lawrence beat Assabet Valley 36-26 in the State Vocational Large School Bowl. It was the Reggies’ second consecutive Vocational Bowl title.
 
“This means everything, winning back-to-back championships,” said Diaz, who threw for two scores and ran for a game-high 175 yards and another touchdown. “We’ve worked our butts off for the whole season until this point, and it’s paid off.”
 
After forcing a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, Diaz returned a punt 34 yards to the Aztecs’ 34. With Assabet filling the box with 10 defenders, Diaz immediately went deep, hitting Chris Tineo down field for the quick lead.
 
“We knew we were coming out throwing,” Diaz said. “Usually, in most games, the other team thinks we’ll come out running right off the bat. So we came out passing on the first play and it worked.”
Assabet (9-4) quickly rallied through the air to take a 12-7 lead on a pair of Connor Shurling-to-Jacob Nelson scoring passes. But that would be the extent of the Aztecs offense until its final two possessions in the contest.
Facing a fourth-and-9 late in the second quarter, Diaz hit Franklyn Espinal for a 19-yard score and a 15-12 Reggies lead with 4:45 left until halftime. 
Espinal, who ran for 142 yards while subbing for the injured Diaz against Whittier on Thanksgiving, only had four carries against Assabet, but made them count with three first downs and 68 yards.
“It was amazing knowing we had a complete team,” Espinal said. “We know we’re going to dominate every game when we have Shamil, no matter if it’s a win or a loss. This win means everything.”
Espinal later set up Greater Lawrence at midfield, returning the second-half kickoff 31 yards, and seven plays later the Reggies grabbed a 22-12 lead on a 1-yard Maleek Dejesus run. After halting an Assabet drive at the Aztecs 43, a 50-yard Espinal gallop to the 1 led to a Diaz touchdown and a 16-point lead with 30 seconds left in the third.
“Last week, missing that game against Whittier was awful standing on the sideline not being able to help the team,” Diaz said.
In the fourth, a 29-yard Diaz run on fourth-and-5 extended a drive that Dejesus capped with a 5-yard run and a 36-12 lead with 6:50 remaining.
“Diaz, Espinal and Maleek Dejesus, the three seniors, they really turned it on,” said Reggie coach Tony Sarkis, whose squad finished with 285 yards rushing. “And the line just opened up holes doing what they needed to do. But throwing the ball early really threw them off a little. This is great for the seniors. They’ve worked hard all year, and we’re going to miss those guys.”
While Greater Lawrence was scoring 29 unanswered points, the Reggie defense stymied Assabet. After the early passing touchdowns, Shurling misfired on 11 of his next 13 passes which included an interception by senior Adrian Javier with 4:30 left. The Aztecs compiled 121 of their 287 total yards after falling behind by 24 points.
“The defense really stepped up,” Sarkis said. “Coach Chris Fusco put a good game plan in place and the kids executed it almost perfectly. They came out physical to play (Assabet). That was real good Reggie football there.”
The strong season finish should provide the Reggies motivation for the future.
 “We have five seniors who were starters for us and 16 on the roster, and we’re going to miss those guys” said Sarkis. “But I think the underclassmen will be huge if they stick together and work hard in the off season.
“The (back-to-back 13-game seasons) teaches them that you have to be rugged coming through the season. It’s not how we start, it’s how we finish. And that’s huge for these guys who have seen it for two years in a row.”

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

GL — Chris Tineo 34 pass from Shamil Diaz (Gustavo Regalado kick) 9:56

Assabet — Jacob Nelson 32 pass from Connor Shurling (kick blocked) 1:36

Second Quarter

Assabet — Nelson 13 pass from Shurling (run failed) 9:17

GL — Franklyn Espinal 19 pass from Diaz (Maleek Dejesus run) 4:45

Third Quarter

GL — Dejesus 1 run (Regalado kick) 8:10

GL — Diaz 1 run (kick faieled) 0:30

Fourth Quarter

GL — Dejesus 5 run (Diaz run) 6:50

Assabet — Nelson 17 pass from Shurling (Justin Giusti run) 1:02

Assabet — Nelson 42 pass from Shuyrling (pass failed) 0:27

 


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Assabet (28-107) — Giusti 11-34, DJ Doucette 7-21, Dylan Clemmer 3-20, Cole Nelson 4-17, Mateo Ciccone 1-9, Shurling 2-6; GL (37-285) — Diaz 21-175, Espinal 4-68, Dejesus 10-46, Anthony Alves 1-1, Team 1-(-5)

PASSING: Assabet — Shurling 9-23-1, 180 yards; GL — Diaz 4-12-1, 80

RECEIVING: Assabet — Nelson 5-152, Giusti 2-21, Doucette 1-5, Nelson 1-2; GL — Espinal 2-52, Tineo 1-34, Alves 1-4

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