JOE LAMONICA (56), a senior captain, set the tone yet again on the offensive and defensive lines for the Warriors in their 28-0 win over Watertown on Senior Night. (Brian Cusack File Photo)
By TYM BROWN
WAKEFIELD — Wakefield High’s football team was able to get back in the win column at home on Friday night against the Watertown Raiders, shutting out the visitors 28-0.
This bounce-back win was led by a huge performance from Myles Sanchez. The sophomore running back ran the ball 21 times totaling 94 yards and picking up two touchdowns along the way in this dominant senior night win for Wakefield.
“It was great to rebound and right the ship after a couple of difficult games the last two weeks,” said head coach John Rafferty referring to Wakefield losses to Burlington on Sept. 29 and Woburn on Oct. 6.
The Warriors took control of this game from the opening kick-off thanks to Jaden Fullerton. The freshman running back received the kick off on a bounce at the Wakefield 14-yard line and sprinted straight ahead as Wakefield blockers opened a lane for him in the middle of the field. Fullerton flew bye Watertown defenders as he returned the kick 86 yards into the end zone, putting a touchdown on the board for the Warriors just 11 seconds into the game.
The defense also started off well for the home team, stuffing two runs from Raider quarterback Anthony Shorter. Junior cornerback Ian Christie batted down Shorter’s first pass of the game to force a Watertown punt on their first drive. As the punt settled, a Warrior special teamer was pushed into the ball by Raider senior captain Asa Logan. Logan recovered the muffed punt, gaining his team 39 yards and a new set of downs on the Wakefield 28-yard line.
After two more runs were stuffed, the Raiders looked desperate to convert on 3rd and 11. Shorter handed off to his running back Ethan Spickler to the right who then pitched the ball back to Logan sweeping left. The pitch, however, was high and behind Logan as the ball bounced off the turf and into the arms of a diving Mark Letchford for a fumble recovery.
The Warriors took over on their own 35-yard line with just under eight minutes left in the first quarter. Wakefield’s offense marched down the field with a hard-nosed running game on their first full-length drive. The Warriors converted twice on fourth down as they drained nine minutes off the game clock with 17 consecutive runs.
This hard-fought series was capped off with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by junior Jayvith Chea for the first touchdown of his varsity career. With another extra point up and good from senior captain Letchford, the Warriors led 14-0 in the early minutes of the 2nd quarter. Neither team was able to move the ball for the rest of the frame as the Warriors punted and turned it over on downs while the Raiders punted twice, only picking up one first down in the half.
“The defense as a whole really stood out,” said Rafferty of a group including linemen senior captain Joe LaMonica, senior Bryce Vaughan and juniors Matt Beaver, Jackson Fitzpatrick and Zach Courtright; linebackers Letchford, Fullerton and senior Declan O’Callahan; and a secondary of Sanchez, juniors John Fitzgerald and Ian Christie and sophomore Tommy DeFeo. “They held Watertown in check, almost exclusively. I was really proud of their effort.”
The Warriors kicked off to start the third quarter with an excellent boot from Letchford, pinning Watertown on their own 6-yard line. The Raiders only moved the chains once on the drive as they were forced to punt. A good return from Sanchez went across midfield as Beaver stepped in at quarterback for the second half. Beaver is typically a tight end for the Warriors, but filled in at quarterback for the second half strategically as a lead blocker for a consistent flow of run plays that Wakefield stuck with. This strategy proved to work as the Warriors’ offense made quick work of the short field position, capping off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run from Sanchez.
With a third extra point from Letchford, the score was 21-0 in favor of Wakefield and times looked desperate for the Raiders to make something happen on offense. Watertown’s offense started to get a bit more daring on their next drive looking to pass for just the second time in the game. Shorter found Logan on a screen pass, but a perfect read by Fitzgerald blew up the play, making it a two-yard loss. On 3rd and 11, Shorter rolled out to his right and heaved a pass downfield to his senior receiver Aiden Hernandez who made a spectacular catch for a 35-yard gain.
After picking up another first down with four straight runs, Shorter would look to pass again. He tossed across the middle inaccurately to his receiver Stefano Salvucci who tipped the ball upwards right to O’Callahan for the quarter-closing interception. The senior expressed his thoughts on the play after the game.
“It felt unbelievable. Knowing I could put the game away just like that? It felt really good.”
This play did ultimately squander any hopes the Raiders had of coming back as the Warrior offense put together another great drive to put the finishing touches on this game. The Warriors ran deep into Watertown territory as time slowly drained away. On 2nd down on the Raider 26, Sanchez took a burst of speed from the middle as he cut out to the left and then back in line with blockers for his second touchdown run of the game. The fourth extra point from Letchford polished off the final score at 28-0 as the Raiders punted on their last drive of the game, allowing the Warriors to run the clock out.
With this blowout win in the books, the Warriors stand with a 4-2 record on the season. Wakefield will have to play well these final two weeks of the season in order to solidify their spot in the Division 4 tournament. They were ranked No. 17 in the MIAA power rankings going into Friday night’s game. The top 16 teams qualify for the playoffs.
“It’s still one game at a time, that’s exclusive with us,” said Rafferty. “We’re moving on to get ready for a good, quality opponent. We have our work cut out for us.”
The Warriors will travel to Wilmington this week to play the 4-2 Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.
Wakefield vs. Watertown Box Score
1st 2nd 3rd 4th T
Watertown 0 0 0 0 0
Wakefield. 7. 7 7 7 28
1st Quarter
Wakefield — Jaden Fullerton 86-yard kickoff return (Mark Letchford PAT)
2nd Quarter
Wakefield — Jayvith Chea 1-yard run (Letchford PAT)
3rd Quarter
Wakefield — Myles Sanchez 10-yard run (Letchford PAT)
4th Quarter
Wakefield — Sanchez 26-yard run (Letchford PAT)
Wakefield Rushing
Sanchez – 21 carries, 94 yards, 2 TD’s
Fullerton — 12 carries, 51 yards
Matt Beaver — 5 carries, 22 yards
Declan O’Callahan — 5 carries, 19 yards
Christian DiFlorio — 3 carries, 17 yards
Chea — 3 carries, 5 yards, 1 TD