7-on-7 football: Lawrence Academy tops West Springfield in regional final
FITCHBURG — Whoever coined the phrase, “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none,” did not watch Lawrence Academy at Friday night’s Northeast 7v7 Central regional at St. Bernard’s.
The Spartans rolled with two young signal-callers, freshman Jayden Campbell and sophomore Luke Harrington, and won with a 28-26 victory over a good West Springfield team.
“They both played very well,” Lawrence Academy assistant coach Marlon Toon said. “No arguing. They rotated every series. We stuck to the plan, and the plan worked.”
Part of that plan was to throw the ball early and often to wide receiver Thomas Kuefler, a senior who transferred in from Catholic Memorial. An injury kept Kuefler off the field for the final two games, but he was close to uncoverable when he was in.
“It’s great,” Kuefler said. “They’re both good (quarterbacks), very young, very skilled. Obviously, I had a great QB at CM (Peter Bourque, now at Tabor). Moving on, it’s been really easy, and very similar.”
No offers at the moment for Kuefler, who has interest from Yale, Boston College, Syracuse, URI and Maryland.
Tight end Matt Tybor and wide receiver Darnell Brunson also had strong days for Lawrence Academy.
West Springfield had a strong day, and quarterback Nate Stone had one of the most accurate days of any signal-caller at the event. Jonathan Gingerhua was a top receiver, and the Terriers will compete in a wide-open D3 when the season comes around.
BC High made the semifinals, and was led by quarterback Carter Carroll, who is a D1 commit to William & Mary. The Eagles will compete in the Catholic Conference with new coach Paul Zukauskas.
“I’ve learned that despite a change in coaching, we’ve been playing together the last four years,” Carroll said. “This is basically our freshman football team playing on varsity. So I’d say our chemistry is second to none.”
Leominster returns decorated junior quarterback Osiris Lopez, who has a handful of FBS offers, and is one of the top quarterbacks in the Northeast. He was mostly on point Friday, with a team that made the quarterfinals. He was accurate to all points of the field with Jadis Delgado and Xavier Cora making plays on the other end.
“I’d say honestly just being smarter with the ball,” Lopez said of his biggest jump from sophomore year on. “I wasn’t really that smart with the ball (last year), and threw a lot of 50-50 balls. I’m being a lot safer this time, and making the right reads, and making the right decisions, and throwing the ball to the guys I know can make the touchdown.”
Grafton also made the semifinals and will again be a team to watch in D4 when the season starts. Grafton also used two quarterbacks in Sean Griffin and John Peeler, and will also rely on Jake Robertson, Brendan McMahon, Griffin Landry, Finn Gilmore, and Cayden Kelly.
BC High’s Conrad Babka, left, pulls in a pass as Milton’s Matteo Higgins plays tough defense during the Northeast 7v7 Central regional. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
Milton’s Taj Chung, front, reaches for a long pass during a Northeast 7v7 Central regional clash against BC High in Fitchburg. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)