Special To The Independent
The Everett High football team turned a close game in to a rout, scoring five unanswered touchdowns in a 41-7 victory over Masconomet Regional in the Thanksgiving game at Everett Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Second-year head coach Theluxon Pierre and the Crimson Tide concluded their season with an 8-3 record.
Clarence Jules opened the scoring with a 1-yard run. Freshman placekicker Kevin Ruiz booted the PAT to make it 7-0.
Masco responded with a touchdown and PAT, but that would be the Chieftains’ last entry on the scoreboard. The Everett defense took over, making successive big plays.
Senior Eli Auguste, whose extraordinary effort against Central Catholic ranks as one of the greatest EHS individual performances in playoff history, returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown. Ruiz, who was 6-of-7 on PATs in the game, connected from 20 yards away to make it 1-7.
Samy Lamothe provided a second defensive highlight for the Tide with a 29-yard return of an interception for a touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback Nureini Mohamed scored on a 4-yard run after executing a fake pitch that drew the attention of the Masco defenders.
Tyrese Baptiste scored on a jet sweep from 6 yards out to extend the margin to 34-7. Mohamed wrapped up the scoring with a 1-yard run. One play earlier Mohamed had raced 60 yards to the Masco 1-yard line.
Tide Notebook
Ish Zamor and Nereini Mohamed both saw action at quarterback versus Masco and they were effective in leading the offense. Junior quarterback Duke Doherty was injured in the Andover game and did not play versus Masco. Doherty will return next season for his senior year and should be one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the state once again.
The Everett coaching staff, led by Theluxon Pierre, did an outstanding job this season. Following a loss to Springfield Central (who will play this Saturday in the Division 3 Super Bowl), the Tide won their final six games of the regular season. The Tide claimed a solid win over Acton-Boxboro in the playoff opener, Next the Tide went on the road to play Central Catholic in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 North semifinal. That game will long be remembered by Everett fans for its “fifth down” controversy that greatly affected the outcome.
Still, there will be plenty of good memories to celebrate at the awards banquet and the immediate future of the EHS football program is very bright. In fact, many observers believe Everett will be ranked among the top three teams in the state in the preseason polls.