Warriors rout Red Devils, 35-14, for third straight victory
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
TIGHE BECK, a junior wide receiver (#5), goes up to make a sensational catch which was good for a 20 yard gain. That helped set up Wakefield’s fourth touchdown of the game as the Warriors routed Burlington, 35-14, Friday night at Landrigan Field. (Donna Larsson Photo)
WAKEFIELD — In terms of total yards, Friday night’s regular season finale between the Wakefield Memorial High and Burlington High football teams was pretty close. However on the scoreboard it was no contest.
The Warriors routed the Red Devils by a 35-14 score at Landrigan Field for their third consecutive victory to cap off the three-game home stand with a perfect 3-0 record.
Wakefield finished the regular season with a 4-3 record overall and 3-2 record in the Middlesex League Freedom division.
Burlington, meanwhile, fell to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the M.L. Freedom division.
Wakefield received the sixth seed for the upcoming Div. 3 Northwest playoffs and will take on third-ranked Melrose (5-2) in the quarterfinal round on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Fred Green Field.
Burlington dropped down to the eighth seed and will take on top-ranked Concord-Carlisle in a Div. 3 Northwest quarterfinal contest on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Concord-Carlisle.
As for Friday night, Wakefield outgained Burlington slightly in total yards, 246-230. But the Warriors made the big plays to get into the end zone.
Leading the way offensively for the Warriors was senior QB Anthony Cecere who completed eight of 13 passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns. Cecere also rushed for one touchdown as he was the leading rusher with 36 yards on eight carries.
Senior RB Luke Martin caught two of Cecere’s touchdown passes and had three catches for 48 yards. Martin, who rushed for 35 yards on 10 carries, also scored one touchdown on the ground as well.
“It was a good game. I was very happy with the way the offense played,” said Head Coach Mike Boyages. “We have some momentum heading into the playoffs. We’re playing some pretty good football. Defensively, we bent a little bit. They got that one touchdown late but we had backups in at that point. I was very pleased with the effort. We knew this would be an important test for us.”
Defensively, junior DB Tighe led the way with 12 tackles while junior LB Mike Moran had six tackles and senior LB Jack Brown had five stops. Junior lineman Logan Dunn and senior lineman Brian Conroy each had a sack and Martin had an interception.
Both teams started off slowly as neither picked up a first down on their first two possessions. Burlington punted the ball away for the second time from its own 15. Senior return man Chris Calnan caught the punt at the Red Devil 45 and returned it to the Burlington 9 as he took the ball down the left sideline and nearly scored himself.
On first and goal from the 9, Martin took the ball in from the left side for the touchdown. Paul McGunigle added the extra point to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
Burlington answered with the tying touchdown on its next series of downs.
Sophomore QB Dylan Bonfilio (seven of 12 passes completed for 66 yards and a touchdown) had runs of four and two yards before completing a 15 yard pass to junior WR Jonathan Orchanian for a first down. Junior halfback Chenet Guerrier (139 yards on 25 carries and one TD) had a two yard gain before junior WR George Balian caught a 12 yard pass for a first down. Guerrier had runs of two and six yards and Bonfilio had a four yard runs for a first down at the Warrior 20 as the first quarter ended.
After no gain by Guerrier, Bonfilio found Guerrier with a 20 yard TD pass in the left corner of the end zone.
Bonfilio kicked the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 10:05 left in the second quarter.
Wakefield then sustained a 14 play scoring drive that ate up six and a half minutes off the clock.
Starting at its own 23, Martin had a two yard run, Cecere had an incompletion and then senior TE Dylan Brady caught a 10 yard pass for a first down. Martin had runs of 11 yards and one yard. Cecere then found junior RB Zach Kane with a pass on the right side for 16 yards and a first down. Martin had a run of two yards, Cecere fired an incompletion and Martin was stopped for no gain setting up a fourth down and eight from the Burlington 35. Cecere kept the ball and went forward for 14 yards and a first down.
Calnan then received the ball on a sweep play and gained 14 yards setting up a first down and goal at the Burlington 7. Cecere gained two yards and then lost a yard. On third down, the senior QB found senior Brian Dickey in the back of the end zone with a six yard pass for the TD.
McGunigle added the extra point to give Wakefield at 14-7 lead with 3:29 left in the second quarter.
Burlington picked up one first down as Bonfilio gained 16 yards on a QB keeper. But the Red Devils eventually punted the ball away giving Wakefield one more drive before halftime.
Calnan had a 17 yard punt return which gave Wakefield the ball at the Warrior 37 with 1:39 left in the second quarter. Wakefield needed just four plays to get into the end zone.
Cecere gained four yards on first down and then completed a 19 yard pass to Dickey and a five yard pass to Martin to set up a second down and five at the Burlington 35. Cecere found Martin with a 35 yard TD pass down the left sideline for the score with 23.3 seconds left in the quarter.
The PAT attempt was no good as Wakefield took a 20-7 to the locker room at halftime.
“We went with the full house backfield and double tight end set but Burlington did a good job defending that,” said Boyages. “We went to the spread and ran our sweeps and jets. Martin had a nice touchdown catch right before halftime. Dickey also had a great catch for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. The offensive line protected Cecere very well.”
The offensive line included Conroy, Alex Kane, Matt Mercurio, Pat Boyson and Ben Joly. Brady was the tight end.
Burlington received the ball to start the second half and two bad snaps and a false start resulted in Burlington punting the ball away after picking up one first down. The Red Devils did possess the ball for nearly five minutes as Wakefield took over with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter.
The Warriors begin their first series of the second half at their own 38. Wakefield needed just four plays to score. Cecere found Beck with a 20 yard pass to bring the ball down to the Red Devil 42. Martin had seven yard run and Calnan gained 16 yards to set up a first down at the Burlington 19. Cecere took the ball in from 19 yards away on a play off left tackle for the TD.
Martin then caught the two-point conversion pass as Wakefield opened up a 28-7 lead with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter.
The Red Devils picked up one first down on a six yard run by Bonfilio to bring the ball down to the Warrior 44. After a false start penalty, a sack of Bonfilio for a seven yard loss and an eight yard gain by Guerrier, Martin intercepted a Bonfilio pass at the Warrior 38 and returned the ball 48 yards before an illegal block penalty pushed the ball back to the 24. Martin had scored on the play, but it was negated due to the penalty.
Cecere was sacked by Chris Corbett for a six yard loss before senior RB Pat Casaletto gained 15 yards on a sweep to end the third quarter.
Cecere gained three yards for a first down to start the final quarter. Casaletto then gained four yards and Cecere had an incompletion setting up a third down and six play from the Red Devil eight. Cecere found Martin with an eight yard TD pass in the right corner of the end zone.
Chris Sapanaro added the extra point to give Wakefield a 35-7 lead with 10:10 left in the contest.
The Red Devils scored their second touchdown on their next drive with Warrior backups in on defense. Burlington needed six play to score.
Starting at their own 41, Guerrier gained five yards and four yards for the Red Devils to bring the ball to midfield. Bonfilio had a three yard run to move the chains. After runs of seven and five yards by Guerrier, an illegal substitution penalty on Wakefield set up a first down and five at the Warrior 30. Guerrier broke a 30 yard scamper for the touchdown.
Bonfilio added the extra point to cut the lead to 35-14 with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter.
Wakefield recovered the onside kick attempt and put in backups on offense. After a holding penalty resulted in a punt, Burlington sustained a 14 play drive and moved the ball deep into Warrior territory.
Starting at its own 27, junior FB Shane O’Halloran had a 13 yard pass for a first down and Guerrier broke a 27 yard run to move the chains. On a fourth down and one play from the Warrior 24, O’Halloran gained five yards for a first down. On another fourth down play from the Warrior 14, Bonfilio completed a 10 yard pass to Orchanian to set up a first down and goal from the 4. Guerrier had a rush for no gain and lost two yards. Bonfilio had an incompletion on third down and O’Halloran was stopped after a five yard gain on fourth down as Wakefield took over at the 1 yard line and ran out the clock.
“We are more of a senior team while Burlington is a young team,” said Boyages. “We felt we couldn’t give them any momentum. I’m happy with the effort.”
