RallyNorth.net: High School Sports – Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

hec did you talk to Tony? I know for a fact that he gave Mike the 2 open dates that he had in an effort to try and fill a game. Don't make it out to be a one sided thing. Thanksgiving was a date that was available vs Whittier for a long term agreement, whereas Lawrence with their move to the MVC was tenuous year to year due to their new league and scheduling. I know that the weekend of 10/31 was open but Lawrence did not want to have to juggle their schedule so why should the reggies to accomodate them. As far as d1 vs d4(now) the reggies open up with Somerville D1 GBL so don't make it out to seem as if Tony and Dib won't play up in divisions.

haha lawrence would of wiped the field with those fake football from greater lawrence.All the coaches are still having nightmares about that whupping they received in last years game.

Again, scheduling is not an issue or an excuse in this case.
Both sides should make it happen.
If I'm Greater Lawrence, this game offers me a chance at greatness or at least legitimacy. Schedule your league games, then give Lawrence every other weekend to pick.
And make it happen. Forget about Somerville or Groton dunstable or whoever.
If I'm the Reggies, my priorities are to the CAC, then to LHS, then to everyone else.
That didn't happen. And now instead of the kids getting the chance to play in front of 500 or so fans against their neighbors, they'll face some weaker sister in front of 30 folks that will forget them when the bus leaves the schoolyard.
I'm not casting blame. i'm trying to right a wrong.

Central flipping Catholic? what is that supposed to mean? Is that your way of saying Central F-cking Catholic? I realize your point-Lawrence playing Central but you sound like a teenager blogging on myspace when you say Central flipping Catholic.
Poor choice of words-for what it implies.

Hector, like I stated in my post that was deleted I know that it was slang and I know what was implied. Of course it was not a shot at Central–Not overly sensitive either big guy-just my opinion that it was in poor taste regardless of the school mentioned.
Its your blog, you write it and we read/comment on it-I apologize if my comment offended you. Now keep up the flipping good work!

Nuff said.

Several of the coaches for different sports at GLT will only play LHS the years that they have really good teams. Their are coaches there that play LHS every year, no matter how good their teams are, because they realize that it is about the kids and it is the kids who enjoy playing each other. Too many coaches think it is about them. Remember the end of Bad News Bears (part II)…….I say “Let them play, Let them play, Let them play”.

Lancer grad.

I totally agree. The Vokies only want to play when it's good for them…They should play in every sport. Who cares if you don't win…realize it's about the kids and they're playing their neighbor or in some cases a family member. Imagine how many people would go to a Lawrence vs Gr. Law basketball game…have the girls varsity play before the boys varsity and the place would be packed……but the vokies don't see it…..

The crowd at the stadium Thanksgiving night was great to see. It's too bad that the Lancers “ran it up” on the Reggies. As A Lancer grad and Coach it was uncomfortable to see fake punts, long pass plays and gadget plays against a team that you were beating by 4 touchdowns at the time, and obviously were going to beat comfortably. Mike should have called off the dogs in the 2nd quarter of that game and hand the ball off the rest of the game. This is the reason why the game was discontinued, not because of a scheduling conflict. The Reggies were embarressed that night in front of their friends and families because Mike was pissed for having those wins taken away and the Reggies were their Super Bowl. Again, it should be about the kids not coaches who are worried about losing or coaches who love sticking it to other teams when they obviously are much better than their opponent.

Lancer Grad, you can think what you want about LHS allegedly running it up. I'm not sure how bad it was. i was at the game, and I know that Mike subbed liberally in the second half.
Anyway, this talk of ending the game was alive in the Reggies house well before Thanksgiving.
I voiced my displeasure about it then, and I”ll do it again now.
It's wrong to end this thing. Just tell me what's best for the kids.
You'll have a hard time convincing me that a Saturday morning at Groton or Nashoba or Monty Tech would be better than a Friday night on the turf at the Stadium.

Hec,
You and I are on the same page when it comes to continuing the game. Having it on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, at the stadium is the best thing for the kids. Again, I say best thing for the kids. Their was talk at GLT about discontinuing the game before Turkey Day because anyone involved in Athletics at either school could see this is going to be a lopsided series in favor of the Lancers for years to come. The 2 years GLT won a Super Bowl (Their 2 best teams for the last 10 years) the best they could do against the Lancers was a tie and a loss, that was no where near as close as the score indicated. Back when Lawrence played Lowell on Thanksgiving that series became very one sided for a long time but I bet that 85' squad will remember their upset for the rest of their lives. Again, it is for the kids, not the coaches. Mike could have handed the ball off starting in the 2nd quarter but instead continued throwing the ball and faked a punt while already up by 4 touchdowns. That was the final nail I'm sure with GLT as to continue the series or not. The coach made it about himself and not the kids.

Lancer grad I disagree about the comment that the score 2 years ago wasn't as close as the game. the lancers won 28-21 but the reggies turned it over 3 times in the first half, and I believe were down 21-0 at half. they didn't turn the ball over in the second half and ran out of time to tie the game. However I will grant you that a superbowl reggies team was only as good as a 3-8(i think) lancer team, and remember 3 years ago a 5-6 reggies team beat lawrence, so it's not only wjen they think that they are good.And finally there a lot of things going on behind the scenes with indoor football that is creating some bad blood between the coaching staffs of both schools, but I will finish with responding to Hec whos stated that the reggies have the OBLIGATION of filling their CAC schedule and then putting Lawrence as a priority, why doesn't the same hold true for Lawrence why don't they fill their MVC schedule and then accomodate the reggies. Finally I believe they will and should play the agreements with Somerville and Groton were both for 2 years so next year and going forward the reggies will have their first 2 weeks open.

Reggie, Good point on the turnovers from the game 2 years ago. As a Reggie, I'm sure you agree that if this series continues it will be one sided for the forseeable future, but I'm sure that the1 or 2 games out of every 10 that the Reggies can win, the memory will last a lifetime for those kids. Which gets back to the point at hand. The adults involved in this game have, and will continue, to make it about them and not the kids. The stuff going on behind the scenes with Indoor Ball (which I was unaware of) is further proof of that. The game has to be about the kids. Some of us coaches have realized that we have already had our “Days of Glory”. If a coach continues to make the sport about him or her they need to step aside or an AD needs to remind them. It is not about us anymore. It is about them.

Reggie, Do you feel my view of this years game was accurate and was that score a play selection a result of the “Bad Blood” as you put it, between the coaches?

Thanks, LancerGrad

Honestly, I think Mike Yameen could have scored more if he wanted. Running it up is a strong statement that I probably wouldn't agree with. The only other comment I will make about this, that alot of the outsiders don't see, is that LHS and GLTS are both fighting for that same incoming freshman, so getting beat soundly doesn't help in the “recruiting process” of these kids. Not that any 8th grader should be “recruited” but it does happen all he time.

Reg,
The lawrence schedule in the MVC is nine league games.
They are open in Week 1 and on Thanksgiving. That's it.
There obligation is to offer the Reggies week 1 and Thanksgiving first and foremost.
Now, whether they did that is up to debate as you'll get both coaches' points of view in an upcoming edition of The Eagle-Tribune.
Still, the kids are the losers, because 2009 is officially off, and the future doesn't look great.

ran up the score!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike Yameen took out all his starters in the 2nd quarter.The Greater Lawrence coaches keept the starters in the whole game so they could pad their stats against lawrences 3rd string.They are the ones that came late to the game and was very dissrespectful.Lawrence was to big,too strong, and too fast. Lawrence could of put of 60+ on them but instead pulled all the starters.The voke football team sucks and so are the coaches who are scumbags.

Hey toto, Go back to Kansas, this conversation is for adults who know how to have an educated conversation. “Ran up the score” is my educated opinion based on being at the game, watching the whole game, and seeing that it was the starting quarterback throwing to the starting wide receivers all through the 2nd quarter and faking punts while up by 4 touchdowns. If you are educated enough to read the article online you will see that Heredia still came out for the Lancers first series in the 3rd quarter with the score 33-0. I talked to Mike after the game and asked him why he was so pissed at Tony and and why he piled it on. He stated he did it because they showed up late and walked by his sideline during warm ups. This again proves the point that the coaches made this game about them and not the kids and the city. I am a Lancer Gradwho wants to see this game continue. So toto, when you grow and can engage in educated conversations, without referring to people as scumbags or saying the Voke sucks, you are welcome to express your opinion. Now hurry up before you miss recess.

LancerGrad

Fellas,
Please keep it clean and classy.
No name calling or blind accusations here.
Thanks

As a Lawrence High graduate of the same year as Mike Yameen and a fellow teacher and coach with Tony Sarkis at Greater Lawrence I am one of a few people able to see the game from both sides. First, I went to the game that night and it was great to see the crowd and the new facility. The city was the winner that night. I hope the teams can schedule a permanent night game, whether on that night or another Fri/Sat night during the season. Hector, you said it best when you said both teams should want to play in front of 500-1000 fans than another game against a non-conference school. As a coach at Greater Lawrence I know the student-athletes look forward to playing LHS more than any other team on our schedule. We currently schedule games each year in XC, Softball, Wrestling and Baseball no matter how talented our teams are because we see how much the students enjoy interacting, laughing and teasing each other during the games. I as a coach enjoy it just as much as they do and enjoy telling the Lawrence kids that we (my team) will be cheering for them for the rest of their seasons. I like the idea that bluenwhite brought up about scheduling a Basketball doubleheader each year. That would bring out a great crowd for both schools and would be a highlight for the students from both schools. Realistically it would take an extremely talented Greater Lawrence team to beat Lawrence High in many of these games but the team of Reggies that can pull the upset will have bragging rights for the rest of their lives. I know that Tony and Mike like many of us coaches at Greater Lawrence and Lawrence High do this for the kids not ourselves. We get payed good money to coach but when you figure it out hourly based on the amount of time the coaches put into their teams it is funny what the hourly rate figures out to be. I personally hope for both schools and the city that the game will figure out a way to continue and knowing Mike and Tony and how much they have given to these student athletes they will.

Hector,
I thought that was an appropriate reply to him. You should have left it.

LancerGrad

lancer if the reply was to me re-word it because I never saw it

No Reggie,
Some Bozo 15 year old wrote a response bad-mouthing the Reggies and their coaching staff so I put him in his place in a very articulate response that Hector felt needed to be deleted. It's his blog. I have nothing but respect for the school and it's coaching staff. I hope both schools get the game back even if it's not on Thanksgiving Eve. The city and the kids deserve it.

LancerGrad

As a player and a coach i have played in this game… i was a captain of the superbowl reggies team and tied 20-20. Say what you will (Coach rosmarino) warned us not to “play down” we did, and had to scratch and crawl to get a tie. I have coached for 6 years now in this game. Believe me i NEVER place myself infront of my kids. They enjoy this game, but i also having played in it, Whittier is a conference game, and playing them on turkey day for a shot at the playoffs, to me is a much “bigger” game, than playing LHS. The LHS game means alot to both teams/city, but playoffs/superbowl berth would mean more.

lawrence kills glths every other year.Lawrence has better kids, better coaches and way better traditon no questions asked.Mike Yameen is also a stand up guy who does things by the book unlike some coaches.

Greater Lawrence vs Whittier will be a decent game but this conversation has to do with keeping the Greater Lawrence vs Lawrence High Game, alive whether it be on Thanksgiving Eve or some other Fri/Sat night. Pay no attention to the Yahoos that write about “better coaches, better players, blah, blah, blah”. A Thanksgiving game between Greater Lawrence and Whittier, with a Division 4 playoff berth on the line, will get 200-300 people at Whittier or at Greater Lawrence. Bear, since you coached at the game Thanksgiving Eve how did your kids like playing in front of over 1,000 people instead of a couple of hundred everytime you guys play Whittier. As a coach use your influence with Tony and your AD to keep this game alive.

LancerGrad

LancerGrad, i take no stock in anything some of those people say. Those are the people when the reggies do win, that say, “lawrence high didn't want to win” or “we will never lose to the voke.” then reggies win and they have every excuse in the world for it. I remember LHS beat us and the head line was “KINGS of the CITY” the next year we beat them and we were back page, and made it seem like it was no big deal.
My kids Loved the hype of the game, and all the people that showed up for it. But i think that if we played LHS the 3rd game of the year the crowd would be similar, with the exception of some. Something tells me This game will be on both schools schedule if not this year, then in the folowing years, It means too much to the kids and the city, but i just dont think thanksgiving is the best date for it.
But honestly if playing in town rivals is such a huge deal, no one ever wants the reggies to play Central catholic, Methuen, North andover, or Andover?? and we have kids from all of those towns also.

Bear,
You could probably count on one hand the number of kids from those other towns that Greater Lawrence gets kids from, that is why their is no interest in playing those teams. I'm sure 90% of the kids on your team are from the city with the other 10% from Methuen. I'm thinking if a Lawrence vs Greater Lawrence Game is on a Fri/Sat night during the season you will get maybe 500-700 people there depending on the weather. Thanksgiving Eve with good weather will get you 1000-1500. That's why I hope it stays on that night. We both know what a great night that is to see old friends at the game or out at the various places of drink after the game. It's good to hear that the game should continue. My gripe from the beginning has been that I thought based on the tension between the coaches, (for whatever reason), was the main reason the game was in jeopardy, not because of a scheduling conflict. When Mike was quoted in the original post “They blame a scheduling problem, but they simply don’t want to play us,” in my judgement he was partly to blame for this because I felt he “piled it on” in the 2nd quarter when it was obvious to anyone in attendance with an athletic background, this game was going to be very one sided. I know the Reggies made a game of it in the 2nd half the year before but I'm sure as a coach both you and Mike knew this team was a shell of your Super Bowl team. Mike had the hammer that night and in my opinion he swung it much harder than he needed to and at the expense of your team.

As a Lawrence High grad, Coach and former player it was uncomfortable to see knowing it was your kids who were on the receiving end. Weeks earlier when he put it to Haverhill everyone knew why he was doing it. This in my opinion, which is all that it is, was uncalled for and the real reason the game was put in jeopardy.

LancerGrad

LancerGrad, I hear you about the other towns i was just making a point. But, in MY opinion the scores are what they are. the only thing in the game that bothered me (when it comes running the score) was when up by 40, their “primetime” player was in the game with the JV's, he hadn't played all year why then?? but the score i dont think Mike really tried to hammer us, its our job to stop them at some point.
But, the scores of the games really don't change my views either way.