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HAVERHILL — Midway through the first quarter Thursday morning, Greater Lawrence junior Donnie Croteau grabbed a beautiful spiral from quarterback Jose Caceres in the end zone for the apparent first touchdown of the game.
Only to drop it.
“I had it in my hands and brought it into my chest and it popped out,” said Caceres. “I felt bad. I had to redeem myself.”
Croteau did just that on the next possession, hauling in a long pass from Caceres and outsprinting the coverage for an 85-yard score, sparking the Reggies to a convincing 41-14 before about 350 fans at Whittier Tech.
That opening TD was just the start of a first-half aerial assault for Croteau and the Reggies. He caught another touchdown pass, from 10 yards out with 16 seconds left before halftime, and had four catches overall for 191 yards.
But Caceres, who missed two games in mid-season with a bad knee sprain, had other targets as well and he found them with regularity in the first half as he completed 12 of 20 passes for a whopping 299 yards and four touchdowns as the Reggies took a 28-14 lead at intermission.
Leading rusher David White had four receptions for 98 yards, Ronaldo Arias caught four passes for 41 yards and a score and Steven Polanco scored on a 15-yard catch. Whoever was open, Caceres found him.
The Reggies’ aerial success — at least to that degree — was something that Whittier coach Kevin Bradley had not anticipated.
“We wanted them to pass, that was our goal,” said Bradley. “We wanted to stop them from running the ball so we had guys up there.”
Said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis: “They had eight guys in the box so we had to take advantage of it and pass the ball. Our coaches did a good job of recognizing that.”
Caceres, who finished the day with 345 yards through the air and also rushed for 33 yards, responded, if perhaps reluctantly, to the challenge.
“I like running the ball more but I saw a lot of guys open and had to help out my guys,” he said.
In the second half, the Reggies (7-5) played it more conservatively. While holding Whittier to just 13 yards of offense, they stuck to the ground and scored once in each quarter, first on a 22-yard run by senior David White and finally on an 11-yard scamper by freshman Vinny Schmidt.
After the Reggies’ third straight Thanksgiving romp over Whittier, White was given the game ball for his both his offensive (189 yards of total offense) and defensive contributions from his linebacking spot. He got plenty of defensive help from the likes of Croteau, Humberfy Contreras and Malib Pastrana.
“This was a good way to end the season,” said Sarkis. “Our kids know the rivalry and they come to play.”
Whittier (6-5) did move the ball in the first half, scoring on a Julio Joubert 10-yard run and a 24-yard pass from Kevin Bradley to Mark Lamele but their first drive of the game, deep into Reggie territory, ended with a fumble. In the second half, they ran only 14 plays and only three went for positive yardage.
“We had a great first half but missed some opportunities,” said Bradley. “But we just couldn’t get anything going in the second half. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Unfortunately for Whittier, Bradley may be saying the same thing next year. Several key players — including juniors Caceres, Croteau, Polanco and Ader Mezidor — will be returning, causing one Greater Lawrence assistant to state that the Reggies should be playing in Foxboro next year in the state finals.
“We should be pretty good next year, but we have to stay focused and keep working at it,” said Sarkis.
 

MARLBORO — Assabet Valley scored on its first drive of the game and never trailed Friday night in a 26-12 victory over Greater Lawrence in the state Vocational Bowl Large  division playoff semifinals.

WEST ANDOVER — With the wind chill, it was about 15 degrees Friday night, but it didn’t seem to bother Greater Lawrence junior Ader Mezidor.

LYNN — In a game where just about everything that possibly could have gone wrong for Greater Lawrence football did, there was one bright spot that came in the team's final offensive possession of game.

GEORGETOWN - Working with what it had, Georgetown football put up a fight on Friday night against Greater Lawrence.

But the dynamic Reggie offense had every answer.

In a game that featured a number of stoppages for flags, injuries and changes of possession, the Royals fell 49-21 in a slugfest at Georgetown High School in the first round of the MIAA Divison 7 playoffs.

MALDEN - You never want to see a teammate go down, but Greater Lawrence's Marc Travers is always ready when his number gets called.

With starting quarterback Jose Caceres sidelined with an injury, Travers, a senior from Methuen, was forced in to the starting role Saturday evening in a tight spot. A win against Mystic Valley would guarantee the Reggies a playoff berth, but a loss could have left them on the outside looking in.

BILLERICA — An undermaned Greater Lawrence team pushed Shawsheen to the fourth quarter, but the Rams were able to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter to pick up the 20-17 win.

The Reggies (3-3) were down right from the jump after Shawsheen (4-2) returned the opening kickoff for a score, and suffered a huge blow when electric senior quarterback Jose Caceres went down with an injury in the second quarter. He left the game did not return.

ANDOVER - The renovations shined at the opening of Greater Lawrence's new football field Friday night.

The new turf was fresh, the new scoreboard illuminated the far side of the field and the new benches were painted to match the school's colors. And to their credit, the football team looked just as good.

DANVERS — Jose Caceres gave Essex Tech fits in a 42-18 Greater Lawrence Tech victory.

The 5-10, 190-pound junior rushed 23 times for 179 yards and three TDs. Unoficially he was 13 of 14 passing with a 6-yard TD pass to Luis Torres. Adere Mezidore scored twice. 

LAWRENCE — Greater Lawrence quarterback Jose Caceras was a man possessed.

He rushed for three touchdowns in the second half alone, and threw for another in the first half to fuel the Reggies 37-8 victory over Austin Prep Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium. He finished with 170 yards on the ground and another 63 through the air.