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Whittier looking to finish Cathedral series in style

Whittier Tech coach Kevin Bradley figures this is the final Thanksgiving meeting between the Wildcats and Cathedral High in Boston.

"It looks like this will be it," said Bradley. "Now, we just have to find the right team to play on Thanksgiving." Cathedral, which plays in the Division 4 Catholic Central Small, brings a 5-5 mark into this one. The Cats have pushed around the Panthers, who did play the 2006 Super Bowl-bound Whittier as tough as anyone a year ago.

With a relatively familiar crew challenging the 3-7 Wildcats, Cathedral won't be a pushover.

"They're explosive offensively with plenty of athletes in the skill positions," said Bradley. "I watched their quarterback (Robert Williams) last summer at the Boston College camp and he's a heck of a player, definitely a college quarterback.

"They put him in that spread, and he just makes them go." Williams, who nearly engineered the upset a year ago, has thrown seven TD passes this year.

"We've been working for two weeks straight on containing him," said Bradley. "We can't allow him to get out there to attack our defense."

David Cinelli (7 TDs) and Kevin Marseille (5 TDs) are the top weapons at Williams' disposal.

Bradley is hoping that the Cats' size advantage up front will pay dividends.

"Our defensive front has to play well," said Bradley. "Hopefully our linemen can do the job and make things happen."

Bryan Trickett (158 carries, 1,036 yards) leads the Whittier attack. The junior has racked up an impressive 14 touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Dillon Ryan has grown by leaps and bounds. He's hit on 32 of 70 passes for 561 yards and five TDs. Craig Eaton is the main receiving threat with 16 grabs for 239 yards.

Did You Know?

With 1,036 rushing yards heading into Thanksgiving, Bryan Trickett makes it four seasons out of seven that coach Kevin Bradley has had a 1,000-yard rusher at Whittier.