Tide slams Taunton to move up in the Division 1 football power rankings

Everett, now on a bye week, gets ready to take on non-league host Brockton next Saturday

By Joe McConnell

Everett High School second-year football coach Justin Flores said after the loss to host BC High two weeks ago that his team’s margin of error to make the postseason was getting smaller. At the time, the Crimson Tide (2-3) had four games left before the playoffs were scheduled to begin on Nov. 8, and his exact quote was right to the point. Flores said: “We have to win more games to make the playoffs, and the minimum threshold for us is three wins.”

Now, it’s two wins after the Everett boys took their frustrations out on the Taunton Tigers last Friday night at Everett’s Veterans Memorial Stadium to the tune of 35-15. That win moved the Tide up three spots in the Division 1 power rankings from 15 to 12 in just one week, as of Oct. 8. Taunton (2-2) is right behind them in 13^th place.

After last Friday night’s game, Flores was more upbeat. “We put a game together where all sides of the ball played (as one),” he said. “We had zero turnovers and a big takeaway in the second half of the game. We were more fundamentally sound with our tackling and blocking.”

Flores specifically singled out Yariel Ortiz, Carlos Rodrigues, Joao Barreiros, Mark Sylvain and Jonathan Goes for their superb performances. “Sylvain and Goes played great games for us on the defensive line. They made big plays in crucial moments, and had multiple TFLs (tackles for loss). Ortiz and Rodrigues stepped it up for us on defense, (despite) making their first starts on that side of the ball. Barreiros (9 carries for 63 yards, 1 TD; 1 reception, 18 yards) was one of the leaders in total team yards on offense.”

On offense, Rodrigues, behind center as usual, completed eight passes out of 10 attempts for 119 yards with one touchdown, and he also carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards. Ortiz, who ran back an interception for a touchdown, also did his usual good job on offense with three receptions for 69 yards and one touchdown.

Manny Santiago (16 rushes for 101 yards, 2 TDs; 3 receptions for 21 yards), Armani Negron (1 reception, 11 yards) and Kevin Diaz (1 carry, 3 yards) also figured into the offensive statistics against the Tigers.

There were also other aspects of this game that pleased the coach. “I was happy to see the line of scrimmage move in the right direction on both sides of the ball,” Flores said. “But we still need to work on fundamentals, and also continue to line up faster on each side of the ball with the way we operate.”

There’s no football for the Crimson Tide this week. They are on a bye, giving them more time to get ready for host Brockton, another non-league opponent, next Saturday afternoon (Oct. 19), starting at 1 p.m.

“It’s a long bye week with the game being next Saturday, and so we will have a mix of our usual regular daily practices with some time off (this) weekend,” said Flores. “But we are going to still spend the same amount of time in the weight room as we typically do (each week).”

As for the Boxers, Flores has a better idea on who they are after looking over several weeks of games on tape. “It’s the middle of the season, so now we can start to see the identity of many teams,” he said. “(Brockton is) big up front, and they also have speed on the perimeter.

“Physically, both our teams are similar,” Flores added.

The Boxers (1-3) earned their first win of the season against host Lawrence last Friday night, 27-12, and they are currently seeded 15^th in the Division 1 power rankings. Given all of that, Flores is certainly not taking them lightly. “We certainly don’t think this is a trap game, because we respect all of our opponents. Right now, (Brockton) has a losing record, but they also play in a tough league (Big 3). They have already lost multiple close games by three points or less, and we know they are also resilient.”