Late on most Friday nights this fall, Matt McCormick has been one hurting dude.
Wins like the Friday nighter over Andover certainly help ease the pain for this Methuen Ranger.
“After the games, I certainly feel it, it’s pretty tough, but I like the battle, and I like playing on both sides of the ball,” said the senior McCormick, who for the first time in his career has been starting on offense and defense. “After the games, I feel it, it’s pretty tough. But I want to sacrifice and do what I can for the team. Like I told the coaches, whatever it takes.”
McCormick, a rugged linebacker by trade, has been an anchor on the Rangers’ defense for two straight years.
A tight end by trade, he was pretty content going hard just half the time. Of course, he had a playmaker in Anesti Touma ahead of him on the tight end depth chart.
This summer, coach Tom Ryan saw the writing on the wall, and he shared some news with McCormick.
“We weren’t too sure because of the guys who graduated just what the line was going to look like. A couple people had to step up playing on the line,” said McCormick. “Coach talked to me about it this summer about moving to the line. I had to gain some size. I was about 170 last year, and I got up to about 190 or 195 this year.”
So far, so good. McCormick has been a stabilizer, on a line group that continues to grow.
“We had some mistakes in executing early, but guys are stepping up everywhere,” said McCormick.
Like the senior, sophomore wrestling sensation Vinny DeMaio moved into the other guard spot and fit right in with the Ranger big men.
Friday night’s win certainly emboldened the Rangers. Andover came in unbeaten and ahead of them in the MIAA Division 1 power ratings. But the Rangers were prepared.
“We had so much energy,” said McCormick. “Chelmsford had a really good defensive front (the week before), and that helped prepare us for Andover. We were ready.
How ready? and how good can Methuen be as things start to heat up in the run to the playoffs.
“I think we can go all the way,” said McCormick.
Friday night was certainly a step forward.
Ground and pound
The Whittier Tech ground-and-pound game hit high gear on Friday night at Lowell Catholic in the Wildcats’ 36-20 win.
Whittier, which was No. 31 in last week’s MIAA Division 4 power rankings, improved to 3-1 overall as it readies for conference play, opening up on Thursday night against Nashoba Tech.
Both Nick Almanzar and Anderson Pineda eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark and scored two TDs apiece as the Cats chewed up 406 yards on 45 carries as a team.
Because of the schedule and the fact that the Wildcats play in a high-octane D-4, the Cats are going to need to stack wins in the conference to move up the charts.
Owls fall at BG
Saturday night in Nashua was a tough one for Timberlane, which fell to Bishop Guertin, 58-14.
“(The Cardinals) were making plays everywhere,” Timberlane coach Kevin Fitzgerald told Tom King of The Telegraph. “It wasn’t like they were wide open all over the place. They weren’t contested catches because we didn’t get our hands up or our head around. Our guys weren’t in bad position, but their kids made plays.
“Winning games is about making plays, and they made a lot of plays tonight.”
Jeremy Mlocek tossed a 32-yard TD pass to Liam Corman for one score. The quarterback added a two-yard TD keeper as well. Corman led the Owls in rushing with 89 yards on nine carries.
There was a little bit of good news this week for 2-3 Timberlane as senior running back Eddie DiGiulio got the word that his injured knee was not an ACL and he could return this season — sooner likelier than later.
Timberlane plays at Manchester Memorial on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.