Despite an unbelievable start to the regular season, the Manchester Essex (4-0) football team has no reason to look past Greater Lowell (tomorrow, 1:30 p.m., in Tyngsborough).

For one thing, the Gryphons pushed the Hornets to the limit last season. Manchester Essex needed a goal-line stand from its defense as time expired to hang on for a wild 23-22 win at Endicott College.

"It was close. It came down to the end and we were lucky enough to win," said Manchester Essex head coach Mike Athanas. "We try not to look back on past years but Greater Lowell runs the same type of stuff. As for what they'll be like, they're a different team."

While last year's Manchester Essex squad quickly became synonymous with last second thrilling wins, this year's Hornets have ended the games early so far. Manchester Essex has averaged 38.3 points per game while giving up only 7 per game.

Furthermore, the Hornets are coming off their most impressive win of the season last weekend. Shawsheen, a Division 3A Commonwealth Large team, was shutout 34-0 at Endicott College.

"Our keys going into last week were cutting down on penalties and playing better on special teams which we did," explained Athanas.

The key to the high flying Manchester Essex offense this year has been balance between a powerful running game and a dangerous passing attack. Junior running back Brian Ciccone leads the team with 300 yards rushing (three other Hornets have rushed for over 100 yards) and four touchdowns with 164 yards receiving and three touchdown catches while senior quarterback Pat Orlando has passed for 363 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.

Last season, the Hornets were forced to rely too much on the passing game and couldn't count on the running game to gain any chunks of yardage (as evidenced by 19 total yards rushing in last season's meeting vs. Greater Lowell).

"We have to keep the offense balanced again, it's a much better offense overall," Athanas says. "When we run the ball, we can do it. We also set up the pass with the run, now it can go either way."

The other headline from Manchester Essex's fast start has been a stingy defense. In fact, the starting defense has only allowed seven points on the season. The rest of the 21 points have been scored on a kickoff return and against the Hornets' second team defense.

"Our 3-4 defense (3 lineman, 4 linebackers) has been physical and they haven't made mistakes," reported Athanas.

Finally, the long bus ride from Manchester High to Greater Lowell is a concern for Athanas but the 1:30 p.m. starting time should help rather than an early morning kickoff.

"We'll get here, get some classroom work done then have enough time to be settled," said Athanas. "These guys have gone there before (two years ago). We treat each team the same and prepare the same way like we've done all year. Everyone's healthy which is a bonus."