RallyNorth.net

Modlish returns, Sachems punish Lawrence

Saturday, November, 01 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

WEST NEWBURY — Pentucket Regional was winless on its own turf this fall. Meanwhile, Lawrence High hadn't won a Saturday afternoon game since Mike Yameen took over in 2005.

Something positive had to come about for one of these 4-3 teams here yesterday.

Thanks to Chris Modlish's return from a shoulder separation, it was the Sachems ending their home matinee misery in style with a convincing 36-22 victory over the Lancers.

"I was starting to get a little down about playing here, but we got our win, and now it feels pretty good," said the senior Modlish, who missed last week but tattooed the Lancers yesterday for  149 rushing yards on 12 carries, a 40-yard catch and three TDs.

"We played tough. They work off big plays, with big, athletic kids. If we could contain them and stay on the field with our offense. We knew we had a good chance to beat them."

The Pentucket offense really didn't spend much time on the field. That's because it was busy, busting big plays of its own.

Modlish's first two scores came on runs of 27 and 30 yards, his third on a 40-yard strike from Jordan Silva. Silva was the mark of efficiency, hitting four of five for 67 yards. The senior also ran for a TD and a two-pointer then kicked four of four PATs.

"The guys stuck to our blocks," added Modlish, who now has 699 yards on only 82 carries, an 8.5 yard per carry average. "Tons of people could have run through those holes, not just me. The sweep was working so well."

With the Sachems churning out the yards, 313 on 45 offensive plays for the day, Lawrence's wide-open attack bogged down, almost from the start.

The Lancers had one interception, which Connor Harrison took back 47 yards for a score, and couldn't corral a bounding Sachems kick, which by any other name was a turnover. In addition, Lawrence was flagged eight times for 57 yards, compared to 2-15 against Pentucket.

"We stressed all week, time, place, day, it doesn't matter. And we just didn't show up," said Lawrence coach Mike Yameen. "It was awful. We were a totally different team than we had been the last two weeks. We went over (the Pentucket offense) all week, and it looked like we never even practiced it."

Offensively, Demetri Brown was a force on the edge, catching four passes for 102 yards, but Lawrence managed only 66 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Ramon Heredia (13 of 26, 104 yards, 1 INT) spent most of the afternoon dodging the relentless rush of returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star defensive lineman Matt Fiore (8 tackles) and his friends.

Lawrence travels to Triton Friday night, while Pentucket can actually play its way into the driver's seat in the CAL Large when it travels to top dog and defending champ Masconomet.