Things careen out of control quickly for Tigers as Panthers pounce

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Last Updated, Nov 28, 2024, 4:26 AM

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LYNN — It’s amazing how quickly the tide can turn in a football game.

Lynn Tech and KIPP Academy went into Wednesday evening’s game seemingly pretty even. Both hovered around the .500 mark. The Panthers, in particular, were desperate for a win, having dropped their previous two games.

But then, the game started with a bang for KIPP… and a thud for Tech. And the final score – 40-0 KIPP – reflects that.

“We started with a big touchdown pass and then a scoop-and-run for another score,” said KIPP coach Jim Rabbitt. “And we haven’t had fast starts lately. I talked to the guys all week about starting fast, and how it’s much easier to win when you establish momentum right away.”

Tech’s James Runner merely said “the only way you stop momentum is with momentum. And you can quote me on that.”

That was a problem for the Tigers. They could not counterpunch. The Panthers, 6-4, scored five touchdowns in the early game at Manning Field – with quarterback Elai Machado passing for three of them – and added two-point conversions on each, to run away with the game and take a 5-2 lead in the recently-created Turkey Day rivalry.

“The score doesn’t represent the work that was done all year,” Runner said. “We have a super young team, and most of my kids are back next year. I’ll take my lumps this year because I know this team is going to grow.”

Four plays into Wednesday’s game, it was 8-0 KIPP, with Machado hitting Jonathan Jimenez with a 34-yard scoring pass and running the conversion in. Then, Aavian Pena picked up a fumble at the Tech 25 and ran it in for the second score of the game.

Before the half was out, KIPP added a third touchdown and conversion to go into the lockerroom with a 24-0 lead at the break. Early in the second quarter, Machado found Jimenez in the endzone again, this time for 22 yards. Jose Echavarria caught the conversion pass.

It was more of the same in the second half. This time, it was Pena on the receiving end of a Machado pass, this one for 36 yards. Euriel Feliz added the two points on a pass from Machado.

Mickey Stackpole added KIPP’s final touchdown.

“I thought we did this the right way,” Rabbitt said. “We did it with class.”

Indeed, with KIPP in possession of the ball in the last two minutes, the Panthers got into victory formation and took a series of knees.

Runner was philosophical about the loss.

“You can’t turn the ball over six times and expect to win the game,” he said. “Still, I’m proud of the way our kids played all year.

“I give props to [Rabbitt] and his team,” Runner said. “They have a good program over there. We fight it out on the field, but we’re friends once the game ends… It’s a great rivalry and I hope to keep it a rivalry for a long time.”

“I love it,” Rabbitt said. “I hope it’s a long rivalry, too.”

Steve Krause is the Item’s writer-at-large. He joined paper in 1979 as a copy editor and later created a music column, called Midnight Ramblings, which ran through 1985. After leaving the paper for a year, he returned in 1988 as a reporter and editor in sports. He became sports editor in 1998; and was named writer-at-large in 2018.

Krause won awards for writing in 1985 from United Press International; in 2001 from the Associated Press; and again in 2020 from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. He is a member of the Harry Agganis Foundation Hall of Fame, a past winner of the Moynihan Lumber Scholar-Athlete Community Service Award, and was the 2012 recipient of the Jack Grinold Media Award for MasterSports, an organization that conducts high school and college coaches’ clinics. He lives in Lynn, is active on Facebook, and can be found on Twitter @itemkrause.

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