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BILLERICA — Even without stepping on the field, injured Central Catholic senior Trae Musumarra played a huge role last night. With the Raiders trailing Billerica at halftime, 28-14, Musumarra gave his teammates a piece of his mind. “Trae talked to us and got us going,” said classmate and fellow tri-capain Cam Walsh. “We miss him as a player, but he’s still got a lot of spirit and he had us ready to go in the second half.” Indeed he did. With Walsh leading the way, the Raiders scored three straight touchdowns and then stopped a two-point conversion try in the final minute to prevail with a huge 35-34 victory. The victory lifted the Raiders to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the MVC Large, setting up a Thanksgiving showdown with Andover, the winner of which will advance to the playoffs. No one got Musumarra’s message better than Walsh. Little used in the past as a running back, he rushed 12 times for 149 yards and a touchdown in the second half, also caught a pass for 12 yards and was perfect on the day with five extra-point conversions. “Being a captain, I felt I had to do something,” said Walsh. “I was ready and the blocking up front was fantastic.” Walsh also helped the Raiders within striking distance in the first half with a pair of medium-range popup kickoffs. The first, on the opening kickoff, resulted in a recovered fumble at the Billerica 31-yard line, setting up a five-yard TD pass from Ben Onet to Xavier Peralta, and the second pinned Billerica back on its own 10-yard line. Other than their opening TD, however, the Raiders did little on offense in the first half, managing just two first downs. If it weren’t for a brilliant 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Santino Brancato, Central would have been in a bigger hole. Star QB Nick LaSpada led the way for Billerica in the first half, throwing got 133 yards and two touchdowns and running for 143 yards and a touchdown on a sparkling 51-yard scamper. “LaSpada is a great player, but that’s as bad as we’ve played defensively in the first half,” said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “We weren’t tackling and we weren’t covering. “But this was a tale of two halves. We really played good football in the second half.” A Brancato one-yard run and a 10-yard scoring strike from Matt McDermott to Ryan Sullivan tied the score, 28-28, after three quarters and Walsh put the Raiders ahead 35-28 on a 14-yardTD run with 4:35 to play. But Billerica cashed in on a late Central fumble to score with 59 seconds remaining on an 18-yard strike from LaSpada to Matt Clifford. The Indians then called time out and attempted a two-point conversion pass in the corner of the end zone, only to find Peralta in position to knock the ball down to preserve the one-point lead and the game. Sparked by the likes of junior Devin Lattrell and seniors Jaycob Morales, Brendan Hopkinson and Nick Bordeianu, Central held LaSpada to just 14 yards rushing and 104 yards passing in the second half.

BILLERICA — Even offensive lineman Lyle Baker couldn’t help but do his own Andy Coke impression.

“Did you see the juke on (reigning Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year) Nick LaSpada?” said Baker, giving a shimmy as if he was carrying the ball. “We got Andy to the next level, and he juked left, juked right and just ran past LaSpada. It was crazy.”

BILLERICA — Nick LaSpada threw for three touchdowns, ran for one and caught another, leading Billerica to a 41-0 victory over winless Haverhill last night in a Merrimack Valley Conference cross-over game.

LAWRENCE — For a second, just imagine the thoughts running through Mike Yameen's head when his Lawrence High Lancers grabbed a 20-14 lead on Billerica at Veterans Memorial Stadium last night.

BILLERICA — Methuen quarterback Cal Carroll had no intention of downplaying the Rangers’ huge 36-26 Merrimack Valley Conference win over Eastern Mass. No. 5-ranked Billerica last night. “This puts us on the map,” exclaimed Carroll, whose 52-yard TD run with 40 seconds remaining clinched the win. “Last week was a statement game and this week we showed we can play with anyone.” Carroll had a lot to do with the victory, passing for 194 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 144 yards and two more scores, outplaying highly touted Billerica QB Nick LaSpada, who threw for three touchdowns and 239 yards and rushed for 74 yards (but on 21 attempts) and one score. It was no wonder that one Methuen coach shouted after the game: “I’ll take Cal Carroll (over LaSpada) any day.” But Carroll had plenty of help in the course of a fabulous high school football game that saw, before an enthusiastic crowd of about 1,600, five lead changes and wasn’t decided until the last two minutes of play. In addition to Carroll’s heroics, which included scoring the last two touchdowns of the game: — Methuen senior Raudy Minaya caught four passes for 168 yards, including scores of 64 and 61 yards. — Running back Ryan Savastano kept the Indians honest with a touchdown and 95 yards rushing. — The Methuen defense, led by senior captain Mike Harper, with assists from the likes of linebacker Matt Delmonte and linemen Dan Weightman, Gio Rivera, Phil Barrett and Billy Parker, put steady pressure on LaSpada, forcing him to scramble more than he would have liked. “We had a plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C to stop him and we used them all,” said Methuen coach Pat Graham. “You can’t stop him, but we did a pretty good job of containing him.” It was the defense that made one of the pivotal plays of the night. After Billerica scored in the third quarter on a 9-yard LaSpada run to take a 20-13 lead, the 5-11, 195-pound Harper stormed through the line, blocked the kick, picked up the ball and charged 86 yards in the other direction for two points. Four plays later, a Carroll to Minaya 61-yard bomb gave Methuen its second lead of the night. “Football is a game of momentum and Mike made a great play,” said Graham. “He’s a good player and I’m proud of him. I think he has a bright future.” Billerica began the game with a 60-yard drive culminated by an 18-yard scoring strike from LaSpada to Matt Clifford. Methuen rallied with a 5-yard TD run by Savastano and a 64-yard pass play from Carroll to Minaya, but the Indians regrabbed the lead at halftime, 14-13, on a 9-yard pass to Ryan Donohoe. Just before half, LaSpada made what could have been a Billerica game changer when he outleaped Minaya in the end zone for an interception. And it looked to be the case when LaSpada ran the ball in for the score on Billerica’s first drive of the second half, making it 20-13. But Harper’s return of his blocked extra point changed the momentum and sent the 14th-ranked Rangers (2-1) to one of their biggest wins in more than 20 years. “It has to be big because we haven’t beaten them in 10 years,” said Graham. “Our (MVC) league is so tough, but this is a good start. We had a lot of adversity in the game, and we kept coming back.”

Methuen 36, Billerica 26 Methuen (2-1):    6 7 9 14 — 36 Billerica (2-1):    7 7 6  6 — 26 First Quarter  B — Matt Clifford 18 pass from Nick LaSpada (Steve Trask kick), 5:11  M — Ryan Savastano 5 run (kick failed), 0:57 Second Quarter  M — Raudy Minaya 64 pass from Cal Carroll (Eric Lacroix kick), 9:19  B — Ryan Donohoe 9 pass from LaSpada (Trask kick), 1:14 Third Quarter  B — Nick LaSpada 9 run (kick blocked), 5:56  M — Mike Harper 86 return of blocked extra point  M — Minaya — 61 pass from Carroll (Lacroix kick), 4:37 Fourth Quarter  B — Matt Clifford 56 pass from LaSpada (pass failed), 4:55  M — Carroll 3 run (Lacroix kick), 1:39  M — Carroll 52 run (Lacroix kick), 0:40

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS RUSHING: Methuen (37-239) — Cal Carroll 20-144, Ryan Savastano 17-95; Billerica (27-90) — Nick LaSpada 21-64, Justin Fritz 6-26 PASSING: Methuen — Cal Carroll 7-14-1, 194 yards; Billerica — Nick LaSpada 19-33-0, 239 yards RECEIVING: Methuen — Raudy Minaya 4-168, James Staples 2-12, Kevin Higgins 1-14; Billerica — Brandon Coelho 6-72, Matt Clifford 4-87, Ryan Donohoe 7-78, Cam Slatton 1-5, Byron Ramirez 1-(-3)