HAVERHILL — Angel Escalera rushed for 151 second-half yards and scored the clinching touchdown with less than 3 minutes remaining as Lowell defeated winless Haverhill 21-13 yesterday.
Leading at intermission for only the second time this season, the Hillies (0-11) were unable to stop Escalera, who finished with 202 yards on a whopping 41 carries. The 149-pound junior scored on runs of 9 and 34 yards to lead the comeback for Lowell, which finished 2-9.
"We were one block away from doing a lot of things offensively in the first half," Lowell coach Al Pare said. "Anyone can say what they want (about a two-win season), but I've got some great kids. They play as hard as they can."
Coming off a season-high 21 points in a loss to Dracut last week, Haverhill got some big plays from sophomores Connor Tufts and Blaine Joia.
After spotting the Red Raiders a 6-0 advantage when Shane Walsh recovered a fumble in the end zone midway through the first period, Haverhill grabbed the lead on a 65-yard pass from Tufts to Joia a minute later.
Tufts threw for a team season-high 176 yards — 149 of them on three completions to Joia, who set up Haverhill's final touchdown with a beautiful one-handed catch he took 68 yards to the Lowell 2.
Tito Morel ran for the touchdown on the next play to cap the game's scoring. In between Haverhill touchdowns, Lowell used Escalera extensively. Of the Red Raiders' 31 second-half plays, Escalera carried the ball 23 times.
Lowell took the lead for good on a 15-play, 81-yard drive that consumed 7:58. On the possession, the Red Raiders faced third downs of 24 yards and 22 yards. The first time, Kyle Edwards completed a 23-yard pass to Joshua Ouellette before Escalera moved the chains with a 16-yard run. On the third-and-22 play, Thiago Silva went 12 yards on a screen pass before Edwards kept the drive alive with a 14-yard pass to Jimmy Ricoy.
"With the game on the line, we didn't get the job done," Haverhill coach Tim Briggs said. "(Lowell) had some kids who made some plays, and we didn't make a play. That's what it comes down to."
Among the other Haverhill highlights were Malcolm Novello, who had 67 yards rushing, including runs of 20 and 44 yards. Senior defensive end/offensive tackle Kyle Sullivan had a team-high 12 tackles.
Lowell 23, Haverhill 21
Lowell (2-9):6âÇ0âÇ8âÇ7 — 21
Haverhill (0-11):0âÇ7âÇ0âÇ6 — 13
First Quarter
L — Shane Walsh recovered fumble in end zone (kick failed), 5:13
Second Quarter
H — Blaine Joia 65 pass from Connor Tufts (Joia kick), 4:07
Third Quarter
L — Angel Escalera 9 run (Jimmy Ricoy pass from Kyle Edwards), 0:43
Fourth Quarter
L — Escalera 34 run (Thiago Silva kick), 2:50
H — Tito Morel 2 run (kick blocked), 2:30
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Lowell (47-200) — Angel Escalera 41-202, Jimmy Ricoy 1-8, Thiago Silva 2-4, Kyle Edwards 3-(minus 14); Haverhill (23-80) — Malcolm Novello 5-67, Tito Morel 5-34, Tim Nutter 4-(minus 5), Connor Tufts 9-(minus 16)
PASSING: Lowell — Edwards 7-11-65 (0 interceptions); Haverhill (6-13-176, 0 interceptions) — Tufts 6-12-176, Nutter 0-1-0
RECEIVING: Lowell — Ricoy 4-27, Joshua Ouellette 1-23, Thiago Silva 1-12, Joshua McGlauflin 1-3; Haverhill — Blaine Joia 3-149, Joshua Hicks 2-20, David Herook 1-7
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