METHUEN — Emotion spurs greatness.

The Central Catholic-Methuen athletic rivalry has been forged on that premise.

Last night before a packed house of about 2,000 at Nicholson Stadium, Cal Carroll, Raudy Minaya and the Rangers chiseled out their own chapter in this historic matchup, rallying from nine points down in a frenzied final 12 minutes.

Carroll clicked with Minaya on a 20-yard TD slant-and-go with just 16 seconds on the clock, elating the Ranger faithful in the wild 16-12 victory.

"The Thanksgiving game last year and this win tonight, I can honestly say I've never been a part of anything bigger than this," said Carroll with a single tear leaking down his eye-black-smudged cheek. "This team has just been incredible."

With the victory, the Rangers hold their one point lead in the MVC small race over Dracut, needing wins over Lawrence Friday and the Middies on Thanksgiving to lock up the program's first playoff bid since 1992.

"We walk with a little bit of a swagger on the field and I think we're confident that we can beat anybody," said Carroll. "We work hard and practice hard, so we believe we can make the plays when we have to."

All this from a QB and team that was left for dead midway through the third when Carroll's opposite number, Central's Andrew Ouellette, scrambled 21 yards to paydirt, pushing the Raider lead to 12-3.

The Rangers simply wouldn't go away.

Carroll (15 of 30, 154 yards) found James Staples for one completion and Kevin Higgins for gains of 10 and 29 to move the Rangers inside the 5. The junior then bulled in from the 2, cutting the margin to 12-10 with 26 second left in the third, setting the stage for a tumultuous fourth.

Twice the Rangers stood firm, stuffing Central when it mattered.

One Raider drive ended when Pat O'Leary pounced on a fumble. The next when Jason Doyle wrapped up Ouellette for no gain on 3rd-and-five.

The defense gave Carroll and the offense one chance with 2:02 left and 69 yards separating the Rangers from their second straight victory over Central.

"We practice this situation all the time," said Carroll. "We just went out there and did what we had to do. I've got a lot of confidence in Raudy. I know I can throw it up there and he'll go get it."

On third-and-13, Carroll lofted a plum that Minaya snagged, taking a huge shot but holding on right at the marker.

After a 15-yard interference call, the two juniors connected again, this one good for 23 and a first at the Raider 15.

Finally, after a 5-yard penalty, Carroll dialed up Minaya one last time, hitting the 6-foot-1 leaper in traffic with yet another addition to his pass-catching highlight reel, their sixth TD hookup of the year.

Stunned Central walked off at 7-2, knowing that its title hopes remain alive and well, with its own destiny in hand. Beat Billerica Friday and Andover on Thanksgiving and the Raiders will also punch their postseason ticket.

"We let a couple chances get by earlier when we could have capitalized and it came back to hurt us," said Raider coach Chuck Adamopoulos. "Hey, it was a great game and they just made the plays when they had to. Both teams walk off this field still in the race."

Methuen 16, Central Catholic 12

Central Catholic (7-2):0âÇ6âÇ6âÇ0 — 12

Methuen (7-2):3âÇ0âÇ7âÇ6 — 16

First Quarter

M — Dan Cormier 22 field goal, :19

Second Quarter

CC — Trae Musumarra 7 run (kick wide) 3:33

Third Quarter

CC — Andrew Ouellette 21 run (rush failed) 4:26

M — Cal Carroll 2 run (Cormier kick) :26

Fourth Quarter

M — Raudy Minaya 20 pass from Carroll (rush failed) :16

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: CC (32-165) — Andrew Ouellette 16-86, Zack Lattrell 8-40, Tommy Lacroix 6-19, Trae Musumarra 2-20; M (27-85) — Cal Carroll 15-53, Nick Bourgoin 11-29, Nick Wright 1-3

PASSING: CC — Ouellette 1-6-0, 9, Dylan Smith 0-1-0, 0; M — Carroll 15-30-0, 154 yards

RECEIVING: CC — Xavier Peralta 1-9; M — Raudy Minaya 4-79, Kevin Higgins 3-45, Alex Shepherd 4-21, James Staples 1-6, Nick Wright 1-4, Bourgoin 2-(-1)