David Willis: Under the Lights: Methuen's Eason ranked No. 2, Lawrence's Abreu No. 8 junior QBs

Jun. 26—EASON NO. 2, ABREU NO. 8

Methuen star quarterback Drew Eason was ranked the No. 2 overall quarterback, and No. 1 public school/MIAA quarterback, in the class of 2024 by the recruiting service @NextupMa. Eason was the only non-prep school athlete in the top 6 QBs. He was behind just Joseph McCauley of prep power Dexter Southfield.

In the fall, Eason earned Eagle-Tribune All-Star honors after finishing third in the area in passing yards (1,928) and fourth in TD passes (17). Perhaps more amazing, he threw just four interceptions all season, leading Methuen to the Division 1 quarterfinals.

Ranked the No. 8 quarterback overall, and No. 3 public/MIAA QB in the class, was Lawrence High's Jayden Abreu. The Lancer junior-to-be threw for 1,292 yards and 15 touchdowns in the fall, including three TD passes in Lawrence's first win over Andover since 1984.

ANDOVER'S GAVENAS SHINES

Andover's Tam Gavenas was an overlooked standout at New Balance Nationals last week.

The Phillips Academy sophomore-to-be won the freshman 2-mile (9:34.05), was third in the freshman mile (4:26.42) and 14th in the freshman 800 (2:04.30) at Nationals.

Gavenas was the No. 1 freshman in Massachusetts in all three events during spring, according to ma.milesplit.com, despite missing most of the season after testing positive for COVID-19.

DON'T DOUBT LOW PICKS

With the NBA Draft taking place Thursday night, it's important to remember that you never know what you might get late in the draft.

Methuen's Georges Niang was selected with the No. 50 pick — out of 60 total picks — in the 2016 NBA Draft. He delivered his best season in 2021-22, averaging 9.2 points per game with the Philadelphia 76ers.

By comparison, the No. 1 overall pick in the same 2016 NBA Draft, Ben Simmons, sat out the 2021-22 season due to injury and a holdout because of issues with the 76ers organization.

MERRIMACK ADDS

GOALIE

The Merrimack men's hockey team has had added goaltender Steven Bacovsky for next season. Neutral Zone has Bacovsky as a three-star recruit. In 34 games for the OCN Blizzard of the MJHL this past season, Bacovsky posted a 3.30 GAA and .914 save percentage. He'll replace goalie Troy Kobryn, who transferred to AIC earlier this offseason.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT

As Michael Muldoon used to say, "If you can bring a smile to someone's face today, just do it!"

TWITTER: DWillisET