RallyNorth.net

LOWELL — The pride was there, but too much talent was missing.

Haverhill threw a lot of physical play at Lowell before about 1,000 fans at Cawley Stadium. Bottling up standout running back Ambruce Carter while forcing three fumbles, the Hillies held its own in the trenches.

But with skilled offensive players like quarterback Isiah Ocasio missing, Haverhill had little to back up these accomplishments. Behind QB Kyle Edwards and some big-play flash, the Red Raiders cruised to a 26-7 victory to take possession of the Kiwanis Club trophy awarded to the holiday game victor.

The Hillies end with a 10-game losing streak after toppling Melrose on opening day.

"We had quite a few pieces of the puzzle missing for quite a few weeks," Haverhill head coach Tim Briggs said. "But we have to learn and continue to get better."

The Red Raiders (8-3, 6-2 in the MVC) had their hands full up front as linebackers Tito Morel (two forced fumbles), Mac Milewski (five tackles and a fumble recovery) and Aaron Bard (forced fumble) made their presence felt as did lineman Kyle Sullivan (four tackles).

But when Lowell clicked, it clicked big time. Carter (154 yards on 22 carries) turned a simple off-tackle carry into 60 yards and a touchdown on Lowell’s first play. Running its version of the Wildcat offense saw tight end Joe Healy (106 offensive yards) sweep around right end 34 yards to the end zone, then resume his traditional role for a 20-yard third-quarter TD reception.

And through it all, sophomore Edwards impressed in the air, hitting his last five passes for 133 yards including a 15-yard scoring bullet to Julian Scott with six seconds left in the first half.

Haverhill, with several freshmen and sophomores seeing significant playing time, needed three quarters to click offensively. Noel Figuereo (112 yards on 15 carries) got nudged out of bounds a yard short of paydirt on an early fourth-quarter carry that ended a promising 76-yard drive.

But Milewski’s fumble recovery ended up five plays and 66 yards later in the end zone. Nutter rifled a pair of completions, hitting Jeremiah Arriaga for 20 yards then drilling sophomore Devon Alvarado for a 19-yard touchdown. Freshman Blaine Joia kicked the point-after with 2:15 left in the game.

"We avoided the injury bug last year (a Hillie Turkey Day win) and we couldn’t this year," Briggs concluded. "But we had a good group that stuck it out all year. And now we start working toward next year."