| Quincy | 33 |
|---|---|
| N. Quincy | 6 |
QUINCY — Quincy running back Jahvae Handsom-Fields simply refused to go down.
Reaching the second level of the North Quincy defense seemed effortless for the junior, who finished with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 13 rushes as Quincy claimed the city title with a 33-6 victory over North Quincy, the rivalry’s 81st installment.
Handsom-Fields put the Presidents on the board in the first quarter on a fourth-and-1 play in which he was met by three North Quincy defenders in the backfield but managed to weave his way into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.
“He’s a beast. Sometimes I call him Marshawn Lynch,” said quarterback James Lam. “Somehow he just keeps his legs churning and he comes out with the big run and the touchdown.”
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And it was a record-breaking day for Lam, who was 9 of 12 for 178 yards and three TDs , bringing his career TD total to 35, surpassing the mark Chris Noble set in 1988.
Lam surpassed the record with a 40-yard bomb to senior J.T. Bain that made the score 33-6 and put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Bain, whose two catches were for long touchdowns, was also the recipient of a 50-yarder in the second quarter.
“We knew James needed three for the record,” said Bain. “Credit goes to the offensive line. When you give James Lam time in the pocket, he can do anything.”
“It means everything,” said Lam. “I couldn’t have done it without these guys the last three years. It feels great to be in the record books.”
With Lam graduating, Handsom-Fields will become the focal point of the Presidents’ offense next year.
“He’s a heck of a football player,” said coach Bill Reardon of Handsom-Fields, an All-Patriot League rusher. “We will design the offense around him next year.”
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As for the loss of Lam, Reardon would rather not think about that just yet.
“That’s a nightmare I am not ready to face,” he said as he reflected on Lam’s career. “It’s been tremendous. I’m happy for him that he has had such a great career. He’s been a leader. It got to the point to where I would call a formation and he would know what play I was going to call.”
The Thanksgiving win put an exclamation point on an 8-3 season for Quincy, the most for the program since 1990.
“I feel so happy for the kids. They set high goals for themselves,” said Reardon, whose team exited the Division 2 playoffs after a 29-27 overtime loss to Needham in the first round. “They maybe didn’t get to all their goals but this is a great way to end it with the eighth win here on Thanksgiving. They will have their own little place in Quincy High history.”