Last Wednesday night, the Whittier Tech football team was stunned when their league rivals Greater Lawrence pulled off a near miracle comeback, scoring three touchdowns in the final 1:44 to come away with an exhilarating 45-40 Thanksgiving Eve victory.
That was – for all intents and purposes – the Reggies’ Super Bowl.
Come this Wednesday night, a rejuvenated Wildcats team will be playing for their Super Bowl – with the Mass State Vocational Large School State Championship game against Diman Voc (of Fall River) at Medford’s Hormel Field starting at 6 p.m.
Whittier, which lost in last year’s Voc final by a 38-0 decision to three-time champs Bay Path, are no longer licking its wounds and are preparing to take home a state title.
“We had the twenty-four-hour rule,” said Whittier head coach Kevin Bradley, whose team is 8-3. “We were down for a day after blowing that game. We have moved on to our next game, which is Diman. We’ve already had two great practices already.”
Diman comes into the game with an 8-3 record, although they should have nine wins but had to forfeit the victory against Old Colony because of an ineligible player. Their seventh win of the season came two weeks ago against the same Greater Lawrence team, 21-20. It was Diman which came away with the thrilling comeback victory in the state semi-final.
“Their defensive line is big and strong,” said Bradley. “They shut Greater Lawrence down. We will need a team effort to move them.”
Whittier’s offense hasn’t been a problem. The Wildcats have scored 348 points this season, averaging 29 a game with their double-wing attack. Noah Allen has been immense this season with 25 touchdowns and 1,362 rushing yards. He gets help from several teammates including Jay Vazquez, Grady Booth and Elijah Jones, who have combined to score 16 touchdowns and rush for over 1,200 yards.
Quarterback Mark Nealon, who only throws one or two passes a game, can also move the chains with his quick feet and overall athleticism.
“We have to keep the ball away from their offense by having long drives and eat up the clock so they can’t have the football,” said Bradley. “Plus, we need to finish our drives.”
While the offense will be tested against the Bengals’ big defensive line, it’s the Wildcats defense which will most likely decide the outcome. Diman likes to throw … and throw a lot with quarterback Logan McKenzie and his favorite target his brother James McKenzie, while Alexi Gonzalez is the team’s featured back.
“Diman is a very powerful team with a dynamic quarterback and a very dangerous wide receiver that can take a short pass and turn it into a long run,” said Bradley. “To win, we need to shut down the quarterback from making big plays. He has a knack for making something simply go big.”
Whittier will be looking for its third State Voc Championship, beating Dean Tech in 2005 and Blackstone in 2014. The Wildcats defeated Bristol-Plymouth in overtime and Essex Tech to reach the final, while Diman topped off Greater Lowell and Greater Lawrence. Diman also dominated Bristol-Plymouth 41-7 back in early October.