Whittier upset bid falls short

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November 4, 2012

Whittier upset bid falls short

Hector Longo hlongo@eagletribune.com The Eagle-Tribune The Eagle Tribune Sun Nov 04, 2012, 12:10 AM EDT

HAVERHILL — Slicing Shawsheen Tech’s advantage to five at 17-12 just before the half, Whittier Tech’s footballers floated into the locker-room.

“We had the momentum. We had our kids pumped up, and we had the football coming out in the third quarter,” said Whittier coach Kevin Bradley.

But the Cats didn’t have Paul DePlacido.

Shawsheen Tech does.

The 5-11, 190-pound powder keg put the Cats to sleep with three second-half touchdowns, locking down the Commonwealth Large Division on a monster afternoon with the 37-12 victory.

“He’s all grown up. He’s a bull, and he’s a darn good one,” said Bradley, whose sophomore-laded defense simply couldn’t slow the Ram-tough DePlacido down.

The senior rolled up one of the great individual performances of the season, scoring all five touchdowns in a 26-carry, 281-yard day.

Whittier drops to 6-3, 1-1 in conference play.

“For our seniors, I feel bad because this was their big day,” said Bradley. “The few seniors we have got, they’ve shown such great leadership to this young football team. But we’ll use it at a learning experience.

“We’ve two games left (Lynn Tech and Greater Lawrence) and if we win those, I think we’ll be headed into the postseason (State Vocational Bowl) too.”

Junior Jaylin Deveau (13 carries, team-high 79 yards) ran for Whittier’s first score, a 14-yarder up the gut early in the second quarter. He also leaped and hauled in the second Cats’ TD, a 13-yarder from sophomore Connor Bradley that sent the game to halftime at 17-12.

“We just have to learn how to finish,” said Bradley. “You know, we fought hard and we were right there. We just have to learn for this.”

The younger Bradley (7 of 18, 104 yards) showed courage in the pocket on a day in which he was under siege. Deveau (4 catches, 45 yards) was the big target, while senior Justin Reyes made a spectacular, one-handed grab for 36 yards to set up the second TD.

Shawsheen 37, Whittier 12

Shawsheen Valley (7-1, 3-0 CAC): 14 3 6 14 — 37

Whittier (6-3, 1-1 CAC): 0 12 0 0 — 12

First Quarter

S — Paul DePlacido 2 run (Devon Pratt kick) 7:42

S — DePlacido 37 run (Pratt kick) 2:21

Second Quarter

W — Jaylin Deveau 14 run (rush failed) 9:43

S — Pratt 22 field goal 3:17

W — Deveau 13 pass from Connor Bradley (pass failed) :52

Third Quarter

S — DePlacido 1 run (kick wide) 4:59

Fourth Quarter

S — DePlacido 85 run (Pratt kick) 6:25

S — DePlacido 1 run (Pratt kick) 3:19

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: W — Connor Bradley 2-2, Scott Bonneau 2-(-2), Jaylin Deveau 13-79, Jesus Sanchez 11-24, Josh Barton 3-19, Joe Murach 1-2; S — Paul DePlacido 26-281; Mike O’Hearn 3-2

PASSING: W — Bradley 7-18-2, 104; S — O’Hearn 4-7-0, 80

RECEIVING: W — Deveau 4-45, Brandon Lyons 1-10, Bonneau 1-3, Justin Reyes 1-36