Photo by Bob Roche.
Surrounded by Minutemen, Steffan Gravely faked left, then right, then scored another touchdown.
By Mike Alongi
LYNN — They say running the football consistently and chewing up the clock is one of the ways to win a football game. Someone should tell that to the Lynn Tech Tigers.
Behind another unbelievable performance from star running back Steffan Gravely, the Tigers (2-3) routed the Minuteman Tech Mustangs, 47-6, in a Commonwealth Conference game at Manning Field Thursday night. Tech ran just four offensive plays in the first half, all touchdown runs of various distances (45, 59, 71 and 81 yards). The fifth time Tech touched the ball in the first half, it was on a 58-yard punt return touchdown from Gravely.
“I know Minuteman is trying to get their program going, but for us personally, it was all about getting rolling again,” said Tech coach James Runner. “I’m not one of those guys that wants to just run over a team, but at the end of the day my guys only ran about 14 plays, so I’ve got to let them play a little bit. We practiced really hard and prepared well this week.”
In all, Gravely recorded 339 total yards and six touchdowns, with 201 yards and four touchdowns coming on the ground. The other touchdown for Tech was scored on an 81-yard romp by Keoni Gaskin.
“Steffan is a great playmaker, and we’re fortunate to have him on our team,” Runner said. “I think the big thing was being able to move him into different positions, and having the double-headed monster of him and Keoni Gaskins back there is huge for us.”
It was also Homecoming Weekend for the Tigers, and four Tech students were honored before the game. Senior Class President Marissa Colon and girls soccer team captain Coral Gonzalez were honored as members of the court, while Makayla Handley was honored as Homecoming Queen and Elvis Guerrero was honored as Homecoming King.
The second half was much of the same for the Tigers, as Gravely took back the opening kickoff 80 yards for a score to continue the momentum.
After the Tech defense recorded an interception on the ensuing drive, Gravely scored on a 26-yard scamper to close out the night for the Tigers.
Minuteman was able to score on its final drive of the game, a 10-play, 45-yard run that ended with a six-yard touchdown run from Casseus.
Despite their 2-3 record, the Tigers are right in the thick of the hunt for a CAC title this year, and Runner knows it.
“The thing about us being 2-3, is that we’re still 2-1 in our conference,” Runner said. “This win is big for us and we’ve got an even bigger one next week in Tyngsborough. If we get that one there, it will really put us in a position to win this conference. So that’s where our focus is, I’m not trying to get ahead of the game, but right now I’m proud of the way we’re playing.”
The Tigers will play another conference game against Greater Lowell on the road in Tyngsborough Friday.