WEST ANDOVER — When Ojany Belliard woke up on Thanksgiving morning, he knew it would be the last high school football game he’d ever play.
Might as well go out and make it a memorable one.
Belliard put on a performance for the ages, rushing for 216 yards and scoring six touchdowns to lead the Reggies to a 51-6 win over Whittier Tech. The senior running back set the tone with a 65-yard touchdown on the third play of the game, and finished with four rushing touchdowns plus a pick six and a kickoff return touchdown.
“This is the best way to end your career,” Belliard said. “This is my last high school game of football ever, and I’m never coming back, and I’m beyond pleased on the way it ended. I’m beyond pleased.”
After the first touchdown, the Reggies forced a three-and-out and drove 63 yards in six plays, capping things off with a 4-yard Belliard score.
Then on their next drive, quarterback Kyle Vasconcellos connected with Leyton Barr for a 49-yard touchdown to make it 22-0 after the first.
In the second quarter, Belliard got loose for touchdowns of 79 yards and 31 yards, and the defense kept strong to make it 37-0 at halftime.
After the break, Whittier controlled the ball for virtually the entire third quarter. The only time Greater Lawrence touched the ball was after Belliard snared an interception and then took it 75 yards the other way for his fifth score.
Whittier didn’t score on either of its two third-quarter possessions, but the Cats did break through in the fourth to avert the shutout. Starting with good field position after forcing a turnover on downs near midfield, the Wildcats drove into the red zone, and quarterback Kevin Bradley Jr. found Sam Rebinskas for an 8-yard touchdown.
But on the very next play, Belliard received the kickoff and took it 80 yards to the end zone to put an exclamation mark on an epic Thanksgiving performance.
“As a coach, I couldn’t be more proud,” said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis. “He’s turned into a nice young man who is going to be a great leader in his community when he goes to college and does great things there.”
In addition to Belliard, Greater Lawrence also got 38 yards rushing from junior David White and 32 yards from senior Vincent Mammola. Vasconcellos went 2 for 3 with 53 yards, and junior kicker Franklin Morales was a perfect 5 for 5 on extra point kicks.
Whittier was led by Bradley, who went 12 for 30 passing with 131 yards, senior Corey Greaney caught five passes for 55 yards, and Rebinskas had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Greater Lawrence wraps up the season at 7-4, while Whittier finishes 3-8.
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Football, 11/24/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
WEST ANDOVER – When momentum finally swung on Greater Lawrence Tech, it wasn't messing around.
The Reggies, so dominant over Lynnfield and carrying a 14-0 lead to the two-minute warning before halftime, had no answers the rest of the way, allowing 34 straight points as Lynnfield took this Saturday matinee playoff tussle going away, 34-14.
“Just a couple of big plays against our defense and it took all the momentum we had, away from us,” said Reggies coach Tony Sarkis. “The small stuff gets amplified against a team like that, and we really shot ourselves in the foot.”
A Greater Lawrence offense that rolled up 200 yards the first 18-plus minutes of the game was held to only 98 the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Lynnfield QB Matt Mortellite (13 of 19, 237 yards, 4 TD passes) found the range through the air and rallied his troops.
Scoring a pair of TDs in the final two minutes before the break was huge for the Cape Ann League small division champs.
“In the end, that just killed us,” said Sarkis, whose 6-4 Reggies will finish up the year by hosting rival Whittier Tech on Thanksgiving morning.
When senior Leyton Barr hauled in his fifth TD grab of the season, the morning burst with Reggie optimism.
Double-covered, Barr just wanted the football a bit more than the Pioneers he had draped on each shoulder. He ripped the 27-yard bomb out their arms and tumbled to the ground securely for the 6-0 lead.
A stop and subsequent 15-yard O.J. Belliard (16 carries, 116) TD dash had Greater Lawrence in high gear at 14-0.
Greater Lawrence simply couldn't sustain. After holding Lynnfield to just 9 yards on its first three offensive possessions (9 plays), the defense proved vulnerable through the air, and the Pioneers pounced.
“We didn't run out of gas, we just didn't capitalize on opportunities,” said Sarkis. “Now, we've got to put it behind us, rally around each other, and get ready to go for Whittier.”
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Football, 11/12/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
WINTHROP — Ojany Belliard had another big day for Greater Lawrence football, rushing for 222 yards and three touchdowns while adding a pick-six in fourth to help beat Winthrop 48-13.
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Football, 11/06/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
WEST ANDOVER – Down 21-8 and left for dead in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Division 3A North quarterfinal football playoff game, the Reggies just kept coming.
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Football, 10/31/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
WEST ANDOVER — The last time Greater Lawrence running back Ojany Belliard played on his home field, he left on crutches, fearing his high school career could be over due to the severe pain in his leg.
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Football, 10/08/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
WAKEFIELD — Kyle Vasconcellos carried 16 times for 141 yards and two scores and connected with Leyton Barr on a 68-yard scoring pass but Greater Lawrence fell to Northeast 36-26.
Ojany Belliard has been banged up but he came through with 13 tackles from his defensive back position and also carried eight times for 85 yards and a score.
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Football, 09/30/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
WEST ANDOVER - When Jose Caceras
arrived at practice on Wednesday, Greater Lawrence head coach Tony
Sarkis called him into his office.
Reggies starting quarterback Kyle
Vasconcellos, who had led the team to the playoffs last season, had
suffered a separated shoulder the previous day in practice/. That
meant sophomore Caceras would have to step in as starting QB on
Saturday.
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Football, 09/24/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
READING — Greater Lawrence football blanked Austin Prep on Friday, shutting out the Cougars 14-0 on the road.
Ojany Belliard got the Reggies on the board with a 74-yard rush midway through the first quarter, and Leyton Barr caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Vasconcellos, who rushed for a two-point conversion to make it 14-0 going into halftime.
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Football, 09/16/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
