RallyNorth.net

Sat, Nov 10, 2007 01:30 PM @ Shawsheen

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Greater Lawrence	7	6	6	8	27
Shawsheen	0	6	13	0	19

Adames, Greater Lawrence sprint to CAC Large title

Saturday, November, 10 By David Willis
Staff writer

BILLERICA | On the sidelines before the last drive, Greater Lawrence star halfback Nate Adames could be heard telling his offense that the left side, just outside of the tackle, was there for the taking.

"I felt like it was open," said Adames. "I knew I had to do it and score, so I wanted the ball."

He was right.

Adames took a handoff going to the left, sped through the line and flew 14 yard untouched into the end zone with 3:48 left to give the Reggies a 27-19 victory over Shawsheen yesterday.

The win gave Greater Lawrence a perfect 4-0 league record, clinching the Reggies' first Commonwealth Conference Large title since 1998.

"I've never played on a winning team," said Greater Lawrence quarterback Jonathan Delossantos. "This is so amazing and I'm proud to be a member of this team. I'm confident we can take it all the way to the Super Bowl."

The Reggies (9-0 overall), who play non-league archrival Lawrence on Thanksgiving Day, have also earned a berth in the Division 3A playoffs. A victory there would mean a trip to the 3A Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.

"We haven't had a winning season since 1998, so this is incredible," said Adames, holding back tears of joy. "I am so happy, I feel like I could play another two quarters."

The victory culminated a stunning turnaround for the Reggies, who were 5-6 last year and a combined 1-20 the two seasons before that. Their most recent winning season was 1998 (10-0-1, 6-0 CAC Large), the same year they won the Division 5 Super Bowl.

"This is hard to put into words," said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis. "This is the biggest win for the program in years. They've worked since August for this, and they showed it at the end."

Adames added a little history of his own, finishing the game with 220 yards on 31 carries. That gave him 2,069 for the season, making him the first area back to go over 2,000 yards in a year since the Eagle-Tribune began keeping complete records in 1995.

His 1,849 going into the game were already the best over that period. The previous mark was set by former Whittier back Angel Heredia, who had 1,843 yards in 2001.

"Nate is just such a special kid," said Sarkis. "Nate works the hardest of anyone, so we never have to worry about fatigue."

Adames opened the scoring with 6:42 left in the first quarter, when he caught a swing pass from Delossantos and sprinted 24 yards for the score. He then added to the lead less than a minute into the second quarter with a 19-yard run.

But Shawsheen, which went three-and-out on its first three drives of the game, marched down the field, and Christopher Clark made the score 13-6 with a 1-yard touchdown.

Adames added his third touchdown of the game on a 64-yard sprint with 3:49 left in the third quarter. But that was sandwiched in between touchdown passes of 60 and 15 by Shawsheen QB Joe Gore.

After not passing for a yard in the first half, Gore came to life in the third quarter, going 8-for-10 for 147 yards and the two scores.

"Gore has a great arm and the receivers can catch the ball," said Sarkis. "We had to make an adjustment for our linebackers to settle, and the corners, who we have been counting on all year, just made those big plays at the end."

Those moves paid off, as Gore completed only 2-of-4 passes in the fourth quarter for 12 yards, thanks in large part to the play of defensive backs Delossantos, Adames and Isaac Sosa. Delossantos added the final touches, going up over a receiver and knocking down a long pass.

"We didn't make all the plays," Delossantos said, "but we made them when they counted. This is just amazing."