By DAN PAWLOWSKI
STONEHAM — The MIAA’s power rankings set the scene from the very start.
Wakefield, ranked 17th in Div. 4 at 5-2 needed a win.
Stoneham, ranked 16th in Div. 6 at 3-4, needed one too.
In the end, it was the Spartans who punched their ticket to the dance after a 22-6 victory, their fourth in a row.
Stoneham set the tone with a touchdown on a 7-play, 66-yard opening drive capped by a 47-yard touchdown run by Kevin Gilmartin on 4th-and-3.
Both defenses locked in from there during what became a throwback battle for attrition in a game that featured a combined 5 pass attempts.
The Warriors had a strong drive to end the first half but were picked off in the end zone on one of those rare attempts, resulting in an 8-0 advantage for the home team at the break.
Wakefield opened the second half with a scoring drive of their own, a 32-yard touchdown run by Myles Sanchez (20 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD) making it 8-6 after a failed two-point conversion.
Stoneham responded with their second TD on 4th down when Matt Tran hit Gilmartin for an 18-yard touchdown on 4th-and-7 with 40 seconds left in the 3rd to make it 16-6 after another successful 2-pointer.
That proved to be a back-breaker for Wakefield, who couldn’t get their offense going enough to make a comeback.
“Very difficult loss,” said head coach John Rafferty. “Playing against a good team, we had to play well and eliminate mistakes. Unfortunately, we had too many and that lost the momentum which created an uphill battle.”
The Warriors, who haven’t won in Stoneham since 2015, will look forward to their trip in 2025 when the Spartans will be playing on an updated field after current construction on a new school is finished.
Under construction on Friday night was Wakefield’s offense, still searching for answers following a season-ending injury to starting QB Westin McNeilly.
After beginning the season 3-0, injuries to McNeilly and senior captain Steven Woish (WR/DB) Wakefield’s best playmaker, coincided with the toughest part of their schedule. The Warriors have gone 2-3 since, working hard to earn wins over Freedom foes Watertown and Wilmington but without the dynamic offense they once had to keep up with the likes of Woburn and Stoneham.
On Friday night, Woish was back on the field for the first time since Wakefield’s win over Northeast on Sept. 22 but only on defense.
“We’ve had a major shift in our approach offensively,” said Rafferty. “We’re not a team loaded with depth so when injuries happen to key players we usually need to fill in with kids who are young and inexperienced.”
At quarterback, the Warriors have settled on junior Matt Beaver, typically a starting tight end with a strong combination of blocking and receiving ability.
The offense couldn’t get it going with two three-and-outs on their first two drives. While the defense continued to battle, Wakefield’s first mistake that Rafferty referenced gave Stoneham the ball on the Warriors 23 after a fumble by Beaver who was dropping back to pass. Wakefield’s front seven, typically Beaver, Joe LaMonica, Mark Letchford, Bryce Vaughan, Jackson Fitzpatrick, Zach Courtright, Jaden Fullerton and Declan O’Callahan stepped up again, stopping the Spartans on 4th-and-2 from the 15 for a turnover on downs.
From there, the Warriors put together their best drive of the night, going 80 yards on 11 running plays, 45 yards from Fullerton (10 carries, 65 yards) and 34 from Sanchez. Wakefield had it 1st-and-goal from the 6 with 37 seconds left but went backwards after a bobbled pitch on 1st down. On 2nd and goal from the 7 with 25 seconds left, Wakefield went to the air but Beaver’s pass to the corner of the end zone was picked off.
“We’ve been forced to put kids who have played certain positions their whole lives to something out of their realm,” said Rafferty. “They have always rallied and filled in admirably and they’re doing that now.”
That rally was on display early in the 3rd as Wakefield’s touchdown drive featured more strong blocking from Letchford, LaMonica, Fitzpatrick, Vaughan, Luke Dixon, Brandon Meahl and even Beaver himself, who often paved the way as a lead blocker after a quick pitch.
Sanchez had an impressive cut up field on his 32-yard TD run but he was stuffed on the two-pointer, one of those momentum plays that just didn’t go Wakefield’s way in this one.
After Stoneham put together a solid drive, Wakefield appeared to be in good position defending 4th-and-7 from the 18, but a coverage breakdown left Gilmartin wide open down the middle for an easy pass and catch. Sean Kilty’s second two-point run made it 16-6.
After a strong return by John Fitzgerald, Wakefield stuck with the ground game as the contest shifted to the 4th quarter but they were pushed back on a 4th-and-3 from the Stoneham 27. The Spartans turned that defensive stand into more points, a 49-yard run from Kilty on 3rd-and-11 ending it at 22-6.
Stoneham clinched a share of the Freedom Division title with the win, one that will be all their own should Wakefield beat Melrose on Thanksgiving.
Rafferty insists that the Warriors will continue their one-game at a time mindset when they host Medford in a consolation round game this Thursday, 6 p.m. at Landrigan Field.
“We just want to be successful against Medford and take care of business,” says the coach.
Of course, the Wakefield faithful knows that despite the disappointing end in missing out on the postseason, the biggest game of the year will loom until the morning of Nov. 23 when Wakefield will go for their 3rd straight Thanksgiving Day victory in the 63rd edition of the big game.
Melrose beat Wilmington 41-28 on Friday to finish 6-2 but were also left out of the Div. 4 state tournament. In the final D4 power rankings, Wakefield (5-3) was ranked 20th and Melrose was No. 18 behind No. 17 Bedford (5-3), No. 16 Ashland (4-4) and No. 15 Marblehead (3-4).
The top five seeds in the D4 tourney are Duxbury (6-1), Holliston (5-3), Middleborough (6-2), Tewksbury (5-3) and Norwood (6-2).
Stoneham earned the No. 15 seed in D6 and will travel to No. 2 Abington this week.