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LAWRENCE — Victory had its price, as opening night took its toll on both Lawrence and Malden.

Losing three starting linebackers could have been disastrous had the Lancer defense not pieced together a pair of heroic fourth quarter defensive stands. Twice Lawrence turned away the Tornadoes inside the 20 to preserve the 13-7 win before about 400 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

LAWRENCE — The Central Catholic boys faced their first postseason crisis, sloughing it off with ease in an 86-57 thumping of outclassed Malden before a packed house of 1,400 at Memorial Gym last night.

The high-octane offense and outside shooting of Andover basketball were on display again last night as the Golden Warriors moved on in the Division 1 North tournament with a 71-37 win over Malden.

For the Warriors, their attention now turns to their semifinal matchup with Lowell, which advanced with a 61-45 win over Methuen. In three contests this season the Warriors have a 2-1 edge over the Red Raiders, winning the last contest 36-34, and a similar defensive battle is anticipated.

Ryan O'Connell had a lot of basketball fans on his side last night in his successful quest to become the all-time leading scorer at St. John's Prep.

First, there was his family. Then there was head coach Dan Letarte and the rest of the St. John's Prep team. The vast majority of the Ipswich High basketball team also showed up to see O'Connell, who lives in Ipswich.

Senior captain Pat Doliber scored two first period goals for Bishop Fenwick but the Crusaders were dealt their first setback of the season when Northeast Malden's Barry Clinton recorded a goal with just over a minute left in the game.

Kara Charochak scored a goal and an set up another from Liz Sears as Bishop Fenwick downed Malden 2-0. Courtney Nicolo made seven saves to earn the shutout for 5-1 Fenwick.

HAVERHILL | Sophomore quarterback Marcos Almeida made the most of his opportunity for Malden last night in a 20-6 season-opening victory over Haverhill.

Pressed into duty when star junior QB Justin Richardson was hit with a one-game suspension, Almeida threw two touchdown passes and scored on a brilliant 45-yard scramble on what was supposed to be a pass play.