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WORCESTER — For Worcester Tech, Sunday’s 20-19 victory over Colonial Athletic League rival Asabeth Valley at Polar Park was all about pride.
“If we come to Polar Park and lose to a Worcester team, it won’t be good,” Eagles captain Charles Manu Jr. said. We did this for the team. We did this for the city. We did this for our pride and our team. We turned the key and became the best team,” he said.
“It feels amazing,” senior captain Gabriel Pinyon said. “It seems like we have more respect than we’ve had before. Everyone looked at us as a team, some underclassmen team. The main thing was that the team locked in as a family.”
Worcester Tech (2-3, 1-1 CAL) snapped a three-game losing streak and the electric 5-foot-9, 165 pound
The Eagles, however, will go down in history as the first high school team in Worcester to win a football game at Polar Park.
“There’s nothing wrong with being in the history books for something positive, that’s for sure,” Worcester Tech coach Derek Robbins said.
Worcester Tech led 20-7 in the third quarter, but Assabeth Valley (2-3, 0-1) snapped a two-game winning streak and scored twice in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 20-19.
Aztecs junior running back Chris Hatch (18 carries, 97 yards) scored on a three-yard jaunt with 4:28 to go in the third quarter. Hatch pulled short from the goal line on the conversion to make it 20-13.
Asabeth Valley got the ball back into Eagles territory and forced a Worcester Tech fake on fourth-and-18. The Aztecs sniffed it out and rained down freshman Zachary Braconier for three yards on a run that returned Assabette’s offense to the Worcester Tech 28.
Hatch ran three plays into the end zone from seven yards out with 46 seconds left in the third quarter. The extra point was blocked, but Assabet Valley trailed by just one point and was growing on its side.
“I was nervous at the end,” said Pinion, who plays cornerback. “I have faith in my sons. I knew we had it.”
The Eagles’ next offensive drive stalled, but Poacher’s punt punted at the 15. The Aztecs stiffened Worcester Tech’s defense and forced Asabeth Valley to punt.
Despite a few penalties, the Eagles scored three first downs, which was enough to run out the clock and celebrate a hard-earned victory.
“I came in with this senior team when they were freshmen,” Robbins said. “My freshman year we lost that game. The boys continued to play hard. In the end, they did what they had to do. I’m not surprised. They are definitely disappointed. “
In addition to Hatch, sophomore Lucas Avelar contributed 58 yards on three carries, classmate Frankie Lopriore III added 31 yards on seven carries, and senior quarterback Owen Keenan had 37 yards and a touchdown on nine rushes.
“Twenty-four (Hatch) and twenty-eight (Lopriore III) are great,” Manu Jr. said. “They’re very talented running backs. “That’s what we expected at the beginning of the game,” he said.
Pinion opened Worcester Tech’s scoring with a seven-yard touchdown run with 7:22 left in the first quarter. The kick was upheld at 6-0.
The Eagles got the ball back a few moments later when senior linebacker Nolen Jost recovered a Worcester Tech fumble at the 24.
Manu Jr. extended the lead six plays later with a 1-yard field goal. Keenan intercepted a touchdown pass to make it 12-0 with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.
Keenan kept the momentum going on offense, putting Assabeth on the board with a two-yard keeper with 10:52 left in the second quarter. Keenen booted the puck to make it 12-7.
Manu Jr. may have had his best run of the season, if not his career, with a stunning 37-yarder with 2:59 left before halftime. He seems to have struggled with it at least two or three times, but somehow escaped each time and ended up crushed on the field.
“He’s just like the rest of us,” said Robbins, whose team travels to Auburn Friday. “He’s got to work hard next week and get better. Auburn, they’ll have a plan for Charles.”
Robins is waiting to face the Rockets (4-1).
“He’s a very good coach,” he said. “It will be up to me to motivate them. It is the most important game every week. We want to go to the fight. This year we have stepped up our schedule. We lost two games that we thought we would win. We kept grinding.”
Contact Steve Farley at sports@telegram.com.
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