LOWELL – It was a win that Haverhill desperately needed and wanted.
After not being able to play in last year’s Thanksgiving game due to the hazing incidents, the Hillies entered this season with a new attitude, a new coaching staff, but were stuck with a tough 1-5 start, which included facing five of the top teams in the state.
Come Thanksgiving Day, all of the distractions from last year, and the pain from those lopsided defeats were thrown out the window.
Thursday morning was their day to shine.
And they did.
Lowell scored on the second scrimmage play of the game, but the rest of the game belonged to the Hillies (3-8), who came away with a 20-12 victory held at Cawley Stadium.
It was the 123rd meeting between the two programs and 24th on Thanksgiving with Lowell (3-8) leading the series 16-8.
“This win means a ton. It’s Thanksgiving, the team gets the (keep the annual Riddick/Ryan) trophy, it’s a heck of an atmosphere and it’s just a great time,” said Haverhill junior quarterback James Farrell. “It’s just special because you can make a few wrongs turn into a right when you win on Thanksgiving.”
Farrell was near perfect in this game. He completed 18-of-21 passes for 170 yards with a pair of touchdowns, while he also had 49 rushing yards with a score. He added a 17-yard reception on a trick play. He finished the season with 345 rushing yards, while completing 119-of-237 passes for 1,818 yards and 18 TD passes.
Farrell was helped out by a pair of receivers in Gabriel Grzyboski and Devin Carreiro, who each had a TD catch, combining for 14 receptions and 138 receiving yards.
“They are both special players. Gabe has played every position this year with the exception of defensive back,” noted Farrell. “The college that gets him is getting one heck of a player. Same thing with Devin. He’s such a special player and he’s had one of the better receiving seasons in Haverhill High history.”
Carreiro entered the game with 48 receptions for 932 yards with 10 touchdowns. He finished with 8 receptions for 59 yards, falling nine yards short of reaching 1,000 for the season.
“The three of them are just skilled athletes,” said Haverhill head coach Rob Pike, who spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as the Lowell head coach. “Devin is explosive and can get open for James and Gabe can do it all, he can catch, he can run the ball and he can block. It’s a special group of kids and I’m proud of them and I’m happy for them. I’m happy that they were able to experience this game. It’s such a great tradition with Lowell, such a historical program and it’s just awesome for our kids to experience this game and come out with the win.”
Things looked bleak for Haverhill in the beginning. Lowell’s Ryan Conley returned the opening kick-off 42 yards down to the Hillies’ 28 yard line. Two plays later, he finished what he started with a 30-yard TD catch from QB Jack Casey. The kick failed and quickly the Red Raiders had a 6-0 lead.
“We didn’t panic,” said Farrell. “We’re just all competitors. If we get punched, we’re going to punch you back twice as hard. That’s just how we play.”
The Hillies responded with an eight minute, 14-play, 67-yard scoring drive, with Grzyboski catching a 16-yard pass from Farrell. The pass conversion failed.
Early in the second quarter, Haverhill fell short of a fourth-and-one play at the Lowell 18. Three minutes later, they got the ball back and strung together a 10-play, 63-yard scoring drive capped off by Farrell going off left tackle for a 1-yard keeper play coming on fourth-and-goal. He connected with Grzyboski for the conversion pass giving Haverhill a 14-6 halftime lead.
The Hillies had a golden chance to break it open to start the third but a dropped pass in the end zone on fourth down gave Lowell the ball back.
The Hillies’ defense allowed one first down before getting the ball back and Farrell capped off another successful drive as he connected over the middle from 9 yards out to Carreiro for the eventual game-winning score.
Lowell did score with 45 seconds left in the game, but Haverhill recovered the onside kick to come away with the win.
“We have improved from the start of the season and that’s a testament to the kids and how hard they have worked. It’s tough when you lose a couple of games but they didn’t back down. They came to work every single day and just kept getting better,” said Pike. “It certainly helps the program whenever you see success (in terms of wins and losses). That’s important and winning today gives us a nice feeling through the off-season.”
HAVERHILL 20, LOWELL 12
Haverhill (3-8) 6 8 0 6 – 20
Lowell (3-8) 6 0 0 6 – 12
L: Ryan Conley 30 pass from Jack Casey (kick failed)
H: Gabriel Grzyboski 16 pass from James Farrell (pass failed)
H: Farrell 1 run (Grzyboski pass from Farrell)
H: Devin Carreiro 9 pass from Farrell (pass failed)
L: Cameron Durkin 2 pass from Casey (pass failed)
Individual Statistics
Passing: Haverhill, James Farrell 18-for-21, 170 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs; Sebastian Guillaume 1-for-1, 17 yards; Lowell, Jack Casey 15-for-24, 159 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Rushing: Haverhill, James Farrell 21-49, Brandon Piraino 1-12; Gabriel Grzyboski 6-10; Devin Carreiro 2-4. Total: 32-75; Lowell, Jack Casey 4-6; Seth Ly 1-6; Anthony Perez, Jr, 6-4; Team 1 – (-17). Total: 12 – (-1).
Receiving: Haverhill, Gabriel Grzyboski 6-79; Devin Carreiro 8-59; Sebastian Guillaume 3-25; James Farrell 1-17; Totals: 19-187; Lowell, Ryan Conley 7-74; Kevin Amankwaah 5-52; Anthony Perez, Jr., 1-22; Jordan Seng 1-9; Cameron Durkin 1-2. Totals: 15-159.