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Whittier Wildcats Football '14

Sat, Oct 18, 2014 01:30 PM @ Greater Lowell
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Whittier 16 24 9 0 49
Greater Lowell 6 0 6 0 12

Gramstorff sparks big-play Whittier

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Saturday, October, 18 By Jeff Hamrick

TYNGSBORO — When Robby Gramstorff woke up yesterday he didn't know there would be a trophy up for grabs let alone it would be his.

The one thing certain by the end of the afternoon was that he earned the recognition.

The Whittier senior recorded the first two-touchdown game of his career, igniting the Wildcats to a 49-12 victory over Greater Lowell. The victory clinched at least a tie for the Commonwealth Conference regular-season title with only Saturday's showdown with Shawsheen left on the slate. A win ensures the Wildcats of opening the postseason at home.

Gramstorff, a slight 167-pound running back graciously listed at 5-foot-7, turned around a Wildcat offense stymied by early penalties with a 70-yard blast for the game's first score with 3:46 left in the firrst quarter. His second score was a more mundane 5-yarder that provided the 40-6 advantage Whittier took into halftime. He finished with a team-high 105 yards on a mere four carries

"We knew we'd come out strong," said Gramstorff, who was voted the opponent's outstanding player at Greater Lowell's homecoming game. "We never give up. We needed senior leadership today, and we came out with the victory.

Gramstorff's first run of the day, sparked a barrage of quick long-strike scores for Whittier (4-2 overall, 3-0 conference).

After Greater Lowell cut Whittier's initial lead to two 20 seconds after Gramstorff's score, Robert Burke provided breathing room with a 37-yard run on the ensuing possession. That was followed by a 48-yard scoring pass from Connor Bradley to Sean Thibodeau and a 61-yard run by Jesus Sanchez, who also had three conversion runs.

None of Whittier's first five scoring drives lasted more than 83 seconds even though each traveled at least 58 yards.

"I have five (touchdowns) on the season now, and five was my goal," said Gramstorff, who added a conversion pass from Bradley after Sanchez' run and added 34 yards on two receptions. "(Sanchez) opens things up for me. They give me the ball and I'm lost (behind bigger linemen). We're feeling very good. We had good ball movement today, and everyone did their job."

The defense, which gave up a 75-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and a 70-yard touchdown run in the third, also had its moments. The brightest was William O'Donnell's safety, tackling GL punter Johnny Norbrega in the end zone. Sidney Taylor also had a good afternoon with a fumble recovery and a sack.

But other than the big plays, which included a 20-yard run and a 36-yard pass on fake punts, Whittier stymied the Greater Lowell rushing attack, registering tackles for losses on 11 of the Gryphons' 26 attempts.

"We had (one) weeks off after playing a big game (against Northeast) the week before the bye week," Whittier coach Kevin Bradley said. "We wondered how we were going to come back ... I was very proud of the way they came out. They came out the way the coaches coached them."

Whittier's final score came via Shane Mambro's 33-yard run with 8:46 left in the third.

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

W — Robby Gramstorff 70 run (Jesus Sanchez run) 3:46

GL —  Elijah Bryant 75 pass from Christian Dally (pass failed) 3:26

W —  Robert Burke 37 run (Sanchez run) 2:32

Second Quarter

W —  Sean Thibodeau 48 pass from Connor Bradley (Sanchez run) 2:32

W —  Sanchez 61 run  (Gramstorff pass from Bradley) 7:23

W —  Gramstorff 5 run (Sidney Taylor pass from Bradley) 0:22

Third Quarter

W — Safety, William O'Donnell tackle Johnny Norbrega in end zone, 9:01

W — Shane Mambro 33 run (Bradley kick) 8:46

GL — Parvel Auguste 70 run (run failed) 6:54


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: W (26-295) — Gramstorff 4-105, Sanchez 6-85, Mambro 3-41, Burke 1-35, Hunter McKinnon 3-11, Corey Greaney 3-8, Taylor 2-4, Bradley 1-3, Mitchell Censullo 1-2, Rachel Guzman 1-2, Jonathan Lech 1-(-1); GL (26-97) —Auguste 2-70, Jonathan Richer 4-25, Norbrega 1-20, Kyle Lima 4-8, Elijah Bryant 1-2, Steve Hillson 4-(-2), Eddy Guessi 1-(-8), Dally 9-(-18)

PASSING: W — Bradley 5-8-102, 0 interceptions; GL (5-10-135, 0) —Dally 4-9-99, Norbrega 1-36

RECEIVING: W — Gramstorff 2-34, Thibodeau 1-48, Corey Gauthier 1-12, Taylor 1-8; GL — Bryant 5-135

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