Will face each other in a night game at Green Field for the first time
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
WAKEFIELD — Last year’s September meeting was historic because it was the first time that the Warrior football team faced rival Melrose before Thanksgiving since 1959. It also the first time the two longtime rivals played a night game. It was also the first time the two teams played twice in a single season.
History is about to be made again as Wakefield and Melrose will play a night football game for the first time in the city limits of Melrose. The Warriors and Red Raiders renew their storied rivalry tonight at 7 p.m. at Fred Green Field.
Both teams enter the contest with 1-1 overall records. This is the Middlesex League Freedom division opener for both clubs and a win will go a long way toward determining the league champion and playoff participants.
The two teams are squaring off early once again due to the new statewide playoff system put into place two years ago by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for a trial basis. The two rivals will also meet again on Thanksgiving Day at 10:15 a.m. at Landrigan Field.
Melrose leads the longstanding rivalry, 53-41-6, with tonight’s game being the 101st meeting between the schools. The rivalry dates back to 1901. Wakefield, however, leads the Thanksgiving Day 29-22-3, which dates back to 1960.
The Warriors are also 18-3-1 against Melrose over the past 21 years.
The matchup is also a big one as the M.L. Freedom division title is up for grabs as all six teams in the division suffered some graduation losses and are seeking to establish themselves. The Red Raiders are the defending league champs and they will not want to let the championship go without a fight.
“This is our first night game at Melrose,” said Head Coach Mike Boyages. “We’ve scouted Melrose over there on Friday night before Thanksgiving in the past. But we’ve never played a night game over there. We had a two great games against them last year and we are usually two evenly matched teams when we play each other. There have been good games in the series and I would expect tomorrow’s (tonight’s) game to be another.”
The Red Raiders lost to Masconomet in overtime, 15-13, the first week before bouncing back with a 39-21 triumph last Friday night. Wakefield, meanwhile, lost to Lexington in overtime, 35-27, before routing Lynn English, 32-14, last week.
“Melrose had a very good year last year,” said Boyages. “They had a quite a run before losing to Tewksbury which eventually won the Div. 3 Super Bowl. Melrose has talented kids and their record is identical to ours. They lost in overtime the first week and both teams won in week two. We’re going in with the same record from the two non-league games.”
Last year, Wakefield won the September meeting in overtime, 17-14, but Melrose won the Thanksgiving Day matchup, 13-7. Each team won on its home field last fall. The Warriors will be seeking to change that tonight.
“This is a big game for both teams with only five games in the league now,” said Boyages. “Melrose’s best player is probably Jack Hickey. He has good size and runs hard. We need to be aware of where he is on the field.”
Hickey, a senior captain and running back, scored four touchdowns last week in the Red Raider win over Winchester. Hickey gained 115 yards on 12 carries and scored three TDs on the ground. He also returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD. Hickey also ran back a punt 85 yards, but that was called back due to a holding penalty.
Jake Karelas is the Red Raider QB and he threw a 25 yard touchdown pass to sophomore Mike Pedrini last week.
Wakefield, meanwhile, has turned to senior RB Luke Martin for most of its offense. Martin has gained 352 yards on 53 carries with four touchdowns in the first two games.
“I’m sure Melrose is going to key on Luke Martin,” said Boyages.
As for outcome, Boyages feels that the contest will be decided which team commits the fewest penalties and turnovers.
“It will come down to which team makes the fewer mistakes as always,” said Boyages. “We had a couple of turnovers last week but we were able to win the game.”
Senior DB Brian Dickey returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and junior placekicker Paul McGunigle returned a fumble 16 yards for a TD. That helped the Warriors to overcome their miscues.
Wakefield will be without McGunigle for an extended period of time. After having an MRI done, it was determined that he had a fractured rib. The junior was injured during the third quarter of last week’s contest.
Boyages did say that senior WR/LB Jamison Kenney has been cleared to play and he can help the Warriors.
“Offensively, we have more options that we didn’t need to use last week,” said Boyages. “It’s good because Melrose hasn’t seen those on tape. On paper, both teams can score and the offenses can be explosive. Melrose has good speed. It will be very different playing over there at night instead of Thanksgiving. The fans were able to see two good games last year and I imagine this one would be no different.”
Note: There will be a moment of silence before tonight’s game to remember Winchester High star football player Pat Gill who was killed in a car accident last Saturday morning. Also, all Middlesex League football players will wear a #11 decal on their helmets the rest of the season in his honor.
