By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD — A trip up to Andover, a microburst, a return home to Landrigan Field and an up-and-down, entertaining 17-7 game.
A lot happened on Friday night for the Wakefield High football team in their season-opener but the end result was a familiar one for this era of Warrior football: a win – their 16th straight dating back to the end of the 2021 season.
“A win is a win is a win,” said Wakefield head coach John Rafferty. “That’s always our objective and we accomplished that even though we were irregular in our execution. We executed well at times and at other times we sputtered, especially defensively late in the game.”
That irregularity, common for most teams in game one, also had plenty to do with the number of players new to either varsity gameplay or a starting role.
Both of those characteristics qualified for Wakefield’s new quarterback, freshman Westin McNeilly (11-for-22, 149 yards, 2 TD’s) who showcased his talent with two long touchdown throws in the 2nd quarter to senior captain Steven Woish (5 rec, 91 yards, 2 TD’s, 1 INT), first from 22 yards out, then from 44 to give the “away” team a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The post-thunderstorm weather was certainly irregular as well, creating hot and humid conditions that got to the Warriors in the second half by way of dreaded muscle cramping. After senior captain Mark Letchford hit an 18-yard field goal to make it 17-0 early in the 4th, Greater Lawrence got on the board with a 91-yard touchdown run by Gustavo Varela.
The offense continued to stall but Wakefield, quite literally limping towards the finish line, would eventually close it out, thanks to a fumble recovery by junior Calvin Bryant with 3:22 left as the Reggies were going for it on 4th down and then a first down pass from McNeilly to junior John Fitzgerald to ice it.
It wasn’t the typical home field advantage for Wakefield, but they still had plenty of support considering the late change in plans, especially from an always-ready Red Sea student section.
Wakefield’s special teams got those fans going early when senior Logan Bayers took the kickoff back into Reggie territory. Wakefield got two first downs thanks in large part to some good running from sophomore RB Myles Sanchez (21 carries, 79 yards) but a field goal attempt from Letchford sailed just wide.
The Reggies also moved the chains a couple times on their first drive but Wakefield ended up getting a stop on 4th-and-3.
After Wakefield punted on their next possession, the defense did their part in setting the tone as the game flew into the 2nd quarter. Junior Zach Courtright made back-to-back great plays on 2nd and 3rd down, first on a tackle-for-loss on an attempted run, then bringing down QB Isiah Suero for no gain on a scramble.
Wakefield got on the board during their third drive. On 3rd-and-17 from the Greater Lawrence 22, McNeilly lofted a perfect ball up to Woish who made a phenomenal contested catch over a defensive back in the end zone to get the Warrior faithful on their feet.
After hitting the point after, Letchford made a shoestring tackle on a 3rd-and-1 run, setting up 4th-and-1 from the Greater Lawrence 43. The Reggies tried a QB sneak but Wakefield’s imposing front seven was ready as Letchford, Courtright, senior captain Joe LaMonica, senior Declan O’Callahan, junior Cade Esposito, junior Jackson Fitzpatrick, junior Matt Beaver and sophomore Luciano Rossetti seemingly all got a piece of the action for a huge momentum-building turnover-on-downs.
It didn’t take long for McNeilly and Woish to capitalize.
On first down from the Reggie 44, Woish beat his defender inside and took off towards the end zone, putting his right arm in the air to alert his freshman who chucked it from behind the 50-yard line and hit Woish in stride at about the 10, the senior then walking it in for a 44-yard TD and a 14-0 lead.
“He did a good job overall,” said Rafferty when asked about his QB’s first game. “Especially keeping in perspective that he was a freshman stepping on a high school football field for the first time. There is a tremendous amount of learning left, but tremendous upside for this kid – we really feel that.”
Woish, meanwhile, wasn’t done with his incredible first half. He picked off Suero on Greater Lawrence’s ensuing drive, soaring to the ball from his safety position.
His 91 receiving yards, 2 TD’s and interception all came in the first half, numbers that likely would have increased if not for him also getting hit by the cramp bug in the second half. Even still, it was enough for Woish to be named one of two Boston Herald football Stars of the Week for Div. 4.
“He’s a very talented player,” said Rafferty who, true to coach form, was more impressed by the captain’s strong run defense in Wakefield’s single-high safety formation, which often requires a defensive back to come up and make a play while the front plugs the gaps. Woish was ready to make those tackles all night.
The Warriors continued to play well at the start of the second half as well. Fitzpatrick, a transfer from Brooks School, was plenty dynamic as a tight end for the Warriors with good blocking and 2 catches for 30 yards, but he was even tougher to contain from his defensive end position, racking up 2 sacks. His first came on a Greater Lawrence 3rd-and-long to start the 3rd as he got to Suero in a flash and brought him down for a loss of 12 yards.
Wakefield got the ball on their own 38 and put together a strong drive thanks mostly to 32 yards on the ground by Sanchez and although they couldn’t punch it in, Letchford made it a three-possession game with his field goal.
Wakefield’s special teams ace in this one was senior Michael Ford who was consistently the first down the field on kickoffs and punts. He made a strong tackle after Wakefield made it 17-0 and later downed a Letchford punt at the Reggie 2-yard line with 7:48 let in the game.
Varela’s 91-yard TD run came after a long delay due to another Warrior cramping injury and it looked like the Reggies had a chance after forcing a three-and-out and getting the ball back with 4:19 to play. On 3rd-and-10 from the Reggie 37, Fitzpatrick came up huge with his second sack. He nearly did it again on the next snap but Suero escaped, only to lose the ball on a scramble. There for Wakefield was Bryant who was filling in on the defensive line due to the injuries. It was a key recovery, which got the Wakefield bench hyped up for No. 79, also known as “C-Money,” a fitting nickname as Wakefield was able to take their Week 1 win to the bank after that play.
“Calvin is a great teammate who works extensively throughout the practice week,” said Rafferty. “It was great to see him come up with that.”
McNeilly iced the game on the next possession with a 7-yard completion to Fitzgerald on 4th-and-7, allowing the freshman to then line up in his first victory formation.
The Warriors have a short week to get ready for Lexington, who comes to Landrigan Field on Thursday. The Minutemen came up just short to a tough Acton-Boxborough team 28-27 on Friday in their season opener.
“We have a short week to get ready for a vastly-improved Lexington team so we have our work cut out for us,” said Rafferty.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Wakefield vs. Greater Lawrence Box Score
1st 2nd 3rd 4th T
Wakefield 0 14 0 3 17
Greater Lawrence 0 0 0 7 7
2nd Quarter
Wakefield — Steven Woish 22-yard pass from Westin McNeilly (Mark Letchford PAT)
Wakefield — Woish 44-yard pass from McNeilly (Letchford PAT)
4th Quarter
Wakefield — Letchford 18-yd FG
Greater Lawrence — Gustavo Varela 91-yard run (PAT)
Wakefield Rushing
Myles Sanchez: 21 carries, 79 yards
Woish: 1 carry, 2 yards
Wakefield Passing
McNeilly: 10-for-22, 149 yards, 2TD, 1INT
Wakefield Receiving
Woish: 5 catches, 91 yards, 2 TD
Jackson Fitzpatrick: 2 catches, 30 yards
John Fitzgerald: 2 catches, 13 yards
Ian Christie: 1 catch, 9 yards