Lopez gets 300th after L-S romp
SUDBURY — On the cusp of becoming just one of a handful of football coaches to notch 300 career wins, Lincoln-Sudbury’s Tom Lopez did his best to keep his eye on the job in last night’s big Dual County League showdown with Wayland.
“It’s hard to think of 300 (wins) when you have to think of the playoffs next week,” said Lopez, who deftly missed the brunt of a Gatorade shower from his fired up Warriors after they easily dispatched with Wayland, 41-9, to secure the milestone. “It was the elephant in the room and it’s good to get it over with.”
Lopez, who took over the Warriors program in the fall of 1978, saw his team take all the drama out of things early on as L-S (6-1) ran wild to the tune of 227 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
“We all knew that this was for his 300th win, so it just added a little extra motivation. And, of course, with Wayland being a huge rival we had a great week of practice,” said captain James Dillon, who rushed for 94 yards and two TDs behind some huge holes from the offensive line.
Quarterback Braden O’Connell (101 yards passing) added a pretty 24-yard scoring strike to Cam Anderegg to open the second half, and the Warriors never looked back.
After beginning as an assistant in 1971 and enduring two winless seasons, Lopez guided the Warriors to eight Super Bowl appearances, three championships and a plethora of DCL titles. But the wins were sparse early on.
“I never thought I would get my first win. It didn’t come until the fourth game,” Lopez said with a chuckle. “We were really struggling back then and wins were few and far between. I’m really proud of the kids and how far we have come.”
After notching a 24-yard field goal by Joe Caloiro on its first possession, Dillon rumbled in off left tackle from 1 yard out. The point after was blocked, but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff at Wayland’s 24-yard line.
On the first play, Dillon streaked down the right side for the score, and Lopez and the Warriors were sitting pretty at 17-0 at the end of the quarter.
L-S added one more score in the half on an O’Connell keeper from 1 yard out for a 23-0 lead and the countdown to Lopez’ 300th was well on the way.
Wayland (5-2) ruined the shutout with a safety and added a late score from Paul Curtin.