Travel to Lynn Classical tonight
By TYM BROWN
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Warrior football team picked up their sixth win of the season last Friday night, 21-0 over an unusual opponent, the Medford Mustangs. This win came on the back of another incredible defensive output from the Warriors, holding their opponent to a shutout for the third time this season and allowing only 112 yards of total offense.
The defensive dominance from Wakefield was present on the first drive of the game as the Medford offense was forced off the field in just three plays. After a punt, the run-centric Wakefield offense took the field and got to work with the ground game. The Warriors drove deep into Medford territory with 10 straight run plays. The Mustang defense stepped up late in the drive, forcing a 4th down just as the Warriors were approaching the redzone. Wakefield boldly went for it on 4th down and 9, but turned the ball over on downs as quarterback Matt Beaver was unable to connect on his first pass on the game.
On the first play of their second drive, Medford quarterback Jack Lombardo looked short across the middle to his receiver Magerson Bazile. As Bazile tried to reel in the pass, Warrior linebacker Mark Letchford punched the ball out of his hands, back towards the line of scrimmage and into the hands of a diving Jackson Fitzpatrick. The junior defensive lineman’s interception set up the Wakefield offense on the Medford 21-yard line on their next drive. Jaden Fullerton opened the drive with a 10-yard run and two plays later found himself in the endzone, scoring six from 6-yards out.
The Wakefield defense allowed a first down to begin their next drive, but quickly ended all momentum the Medford offense had. Two straight sacks from Fitzpatrick and Bryce Vaughan along with a false start penalty set up a 3rd and 42 situation for the Mustangs. An incomplete pass and punt set up the Wakefield offense to continue the great work they had done in the run game.
Just on this drive, sophomore running back Myles Sanchez had seven rushes for 41 yards, which set up the Warriors across midfield for the third time. Medford’s defense stepped up again though, forcing a 3rd and 8 just as Wakefield was getting momentum. Beaver was flushed out to his left on this play as he looked downfield to pass and had the ball knocked out of his hands by two defenders as he tried to escape and a Mustang defender pounced on the ball for the only Wakefield turnover of the game.
Thankfully, nothing came of this as the home defense forced another three-and-out. A quick punt from the Wakefield offense set up Medford with the final drive of the first half as the Warriors still held a touchdown lead. Senior running back Stevens Exatuer broke out a 15-yard run to the left side supported by great blocking, and then blazed past Wakefield defenders for a 28 yard gain on the next play. Despite making the longest play of the game, the effort was spoiled by the half coming to an end.
To kick off the third quarter, the Wakefield offense was forced to punt after another promising start to the drive. The boot from Letchford set up Medford’s offense on their own 12-yard line.
The Warrior defense looked to force another three-and-out, but on 3rd and 10, Lombardo connected with junior receiver Justin Marino for 16 yards. This success was once again short term for Medford. Just two plays later, Bazile took a big hit from Beaver after a handoff, popping the ball loose as Fullerton scrambled to gather the fumble. The second turnover forced by the Wakefield’s defense set up the offense on the visitors’ 31-yard line.
With such a short field to work with, the Warrior offense marched steadily with the run, eventually cashing in on a 4-yard touchdown run from Sanchez. An extra point for Letchford gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead late in the game.
Medford was again set up with terrible field position after a holding penalty on the following kickoff, putting the Mustang offense on their own 16-yard line. A strong defensive stand from Wakefield forced a punt from Medford’s own 13. This punt took a Warrior bounce, settling just 17 yards from the line of scrimmage.
On just the sixth play of the next drive, Fullerton powered ahead for 5 yards through the middle of the field for his second touchdown of the game. Another good PAT from Letchford set the score at 21-0 for Wakefield.
Medford’s final drive of the game ended with a turnover on downs as they desperately looked to score, but came up short just as they had all game. The Warriors ran out the last few minutes of clock nonchalantly as the home team cruised to a 21-0 victory.
This authoritative win was supported by standout performances by Vaughan (2 sacks), Sanchez (27 rushes, 112 yds, TD) and Fullerton (21 rushes, 71 yds, 2 TDs). The Warriors improved their record at Landrigan Field to 4-1 on the season, defending home field very well for the past two seasons.
Wakefield (6-3) will travel to Manning Field tonight at 6 p.m. to take on Lynn Classical (5-4).