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Back to the MVC in 2009 for Lawrence football

Wednesday, December, 12 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

The Merrimack Valley Conference athletic directors have granted Lawrence High one more year to polish up its football program.

In 2009, the Lancers will return to the Merrimack Valley Conference in football, hopefully, according to coach Mike Yameen, as part of a new, two-division conference. "That's the way it was explained," said Yameen, whose club went 3-8 this past fall. "We'll be part of the two-division setup, playing in the small division."

"That will give us five league games. We already play Central Catholic (which will be in the Large). We'd like to renew the Lowell rivalry, and we have (Thanksgiving) with Greater Lawrence Tech."

That would leave the Lancers needing to find three more games.

Again, much of the MVC expansion talk deals with Medford and Malden of the suddenly disintegrating Greater Boston League. Sources close to the negotiations have hinted to a six-team split with Central, Chelmsford, Billerica, Lowell, Andover and one other team, most likely Medford or Malden if the deal works, in the large.

The smalls would be Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen, Tewksbury, Dracut and the other newcomer.

For next fall, Yameen and athletic director Tim Finn could be scrambling for opponents, since it's just a one-year process. The Cape Ann League athletic directors, according to Yameen, recently voted to not mandate any large vs. small crossover games. That means Lawrence has its five league games | North Andover, Masconomet, Wilmington, Triton and Pentucket | plus the opener with Central and Thanksgiving with the Reggies, if that Thanksgiving game sticks.

Yameen noted that Haverhill and Lawrence will renew rivalries in the fall, but that still leaves three open dates for the Lancers to pick up games.

Lawrence left football competition in the MVC back in 1994, after going 1-39 from 1990-1993. Results have been mixed since. As an independent from 1994-2003, Lawrence had two winning seasons (1994-95), going 29-72-1 overall.

Joining the Cape Ann League large division in 2004, Lawrence has gone 7-37, earning its first CAL large win this fall.