By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WILMINGTON — The Wakefield and Wilmington football teams put on a show Friday night. Dueling junior QB’s Mark Holleran (254 passing/rushing yards, 3 passing TD’s 1 rushing TD) and Westin McNeilly (275 passing yards, 3 passing TD’s) were the stars but the episode featured twists, turns, a cliff hanger after every quarter, a combined 27 points in the 4th, heroes and villains, depending on the color of your shirt.
In the end, the Wildcats held on for a thrilling, 35-30 victory, improving to 5-1 on the season while the Warriors fell to 3-3.
In a game full of highlights, Wakefield fans will point to three moments that shaped the outcome: a roughing the passer penalty at the start of the 4th quarter which gave Wilmington a new set of downs from the 7 yard line, turning a 21-17 Wilmington lead into a 28-17 advantage; a pick six by Wilmington’s Pat DeLucia with the Warriors driving down 28-23 late in the 4th and a near-recovery on an onside kick with Wakefield trailing 35-30 and 2:20 left.
The Warrior defense forced a punt and got it back with 2:47 to play on their own 44-yard line. Despite a rushing game held in check by Wilmington, McNeilly and the passing game were rolling. It was only fitting that Wakefield stayed in the air but on 1st down, DeLucia made a great read on an attempted bubble screen getting a hand in the passing lane and somehow coming up with the grab after a bobble and returning it 39 yards for the most exciting play of the night.
Down 35-23, Wakefield never relented. After a great return by Jaden Fullerton, McNeilly hit Cam Sartori for a 45-yard touchdown, their second long TD connection of the night following a 55-yard score in the 2nd quarter.
On the ensuing onside kick, Carter Jefferson hit a perfect ball that bounced high through the glare of the Friday night lights and nearly into the hands of the charging Warriors but a clean recovery never happened and the Wildcats jumped on it.
It still took an impressive play from Holleran to end it after Fullerton came up with a sack and a tackle-for-loss on back-to-back plays. On 3rd-and-13, the Wilmington QB converted on a 24-yard pass to move the chains and ice a second signature win in a row for Wilmington head coach and alum Joe Cavanaugh in his first year at the helm following the Wildcats’ 14-6 win over Stoneham the week before — their first victory against the Spartans since 2017. Wilmington’s win over Wakefield was their first since 2021.
The first half ended with Wilmington up 14-10. The Warriors scored first on Jefferson’s longest field goal attempt of the season (36 yards) after Wakefield’s first drive stalled at the 19 yard line.
Holleran and the Cats put together a 13-play, 80-yard TD drive on their second possession, culminating in the QB’s first passing score of the game, a 9-yard linkup with DeLucia.
That was the first of three consecutive TD drives to end the first half.
McNeilly to Sartori part one was the first of three perfect TD passes from the junior, dropped right into the bucket down the seam to make it 10-7 following Jefferson’s point-after (3-for-3).
Wilmington responded with another 80-yard drive, taking up the rest of the first half and ending with Holleran’s 20-yd TD pass to Camden Gray.
Wilmington extended their lead to 21-10 on a 35-yard Holleran run early in the third quarter but Wakefield stayed in it when McNeilly found Christian DiFlorio for a 53-yard touchdown, freeing up the tight end with a pump fake before another perfectly executed pass and catch made it 21-17.
Wilmington’s next series bled into the 4th, another example of sustained drives that eventually wore Wakefield out in this one. The Warriors thought they made a stand forcing an incomplete on 3rd-and-goal from the 8 but a questionable roughing the passer penalty called on Fullerton got the Wakefield bench and fans in an uproar. A new set of downs resulted on Holleran’s third TD pass of the night and a 28-17 advantage with 8:09 to play.
Unfazed, McNeilly kept slinging it, a 38-yard pass down the sideline to Will Forbes the highlight on the next drive before Fullerton punched one in from 4-yards out.
Trailing 28-23, the Warriors went for 2 but couldn’t complete the pass.
Wakefield’s defense stepped up when they needed it most to force a three-and-out but Wilmington’s pick six on the next play was the backbreaker and the climax of a five-star Middlesex League Freedom Division episode of football.
Warrior fans will wonder where Wakefield, ranked No. 10 in Div. 4, will fall to following the loss. Wilmington was No. 8 in D6 to start the night so like Wakefield’s other losses this season (Winchester and Beverly) it was to a strong opponent, leaving hope that they can stay within the top 16 to make the state tournament.
Of course, the best way to accomplish that is getting back in the win column which Wakefield will try to do this Friday night when they travel to Stoneham’s brand-new field for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff. The Spartans (4-2) fell to undefeated Burlington 30-14 on Friday night.
