Halloween nightmare for Wakefield as Melrose shuts out Warriors 24-0
MELROSE SENIOR Christian Pizzotti came up big for the Red Raider Football team, who shutout rival Wakefield in the opening round of the Div. 3 Northwest playoffs, 24-0 last Friday night. Melrose now travels to Woburn to take on the undefeated Tanners this Friday night at 7:00 p.m. (Donna Larsson photo)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE — For the third time in a row Melrose Raider football has proved victorious over archrival Wakefield. It was a true Halloween fright for rival Wakefield after they experienced a 24-0 clubbing in the opening round of the Div. 3 Northwest quarterfinal playoffs Friday, Oct. 31 at Fred Green Field. But for Melrose fans who spent their Halloween watching playoffs, it was all treats and no tricks.
By beating Wakefield Melrose now improves to 6-2 and will travel to take on undefeated Woburn in the Div. 3 Northwest Semifinals on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Woburn High School.
This contest was the second of what will be three meetings against Wakefield this season (including the Thanksgiving game on Nov. 27) and represents Melrose’s third victory in a row against the Warriors. Previous contests had been much closer in nature, such as last Thanksgiving gripping, three-point win and this season’s closer two point 17-15 win on Sept. 26. Wakefield is now to 4-4 and will play Winchester in the consolation game of the Div. 3 Northwest tourney, while Melrose looks to retain their Division 3 Northwest crown.
“We had all our weapons this time,” remarked Melrose coach Tim Morris after the game. “We had Hickey, Pedrini and our defense overall played a great game – all of our backers and guys up front.”
Melrose never faced a deficit on Friday, striking first in the second quarter when Melrose quarterback Jake Karelas led Melrose from their own 32 with a 40 yard pass to Chris Pizzotti, which resulted in a rushing touchdown by senior captain Jack Hickey to give Melrose a 7-0 lead.
Unlike their last meeting Melrose senior captain Jack Hickey was suited up for the Raiders and he showed them who was boss by running for over 100 yards on 15 carries including a touchdown. Hickey also returned a fumble for a 43 yard touchdown before halftime. Overall, Melrose outscored and outplayed the Warriors on offense with 286 yards to 147 Warrior yards. Melrose QB Jake Karelas had a good night (7-13 80 yards) while Wakefield quarterback Anthony Cecere threw three interceptions.
With a 7-0 advantage, Melrose took minutes off the clock with an 11 play drive that culminated in a Mike Cusolito 39 yard field goal with 9:32 left in the second to put Melrose up 10-0. A fumble by Warrior standout Luke Martin on the Wakefield 43 led to Jack Hickey returning it for a touchdown just 20 seconds later. A good kick by Cusolito put Melrose up 17-0 with less than 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
Melrose’s Pizzotti picked off a Cecere pass and returned it to the 43. From there, Raider sophomore Mike Pedrini gave Melrose their last score of the night with a 57 yard rushing touchdown with just over eight minutes left in the fourth. With 3:55 left in the game Hickey was en route to another touchdown with a 51 yard rush but was taken down by Wakefield’s Luke Martin. The teams remained deadlocked in the waning minutes of the game as the seconds on the scoreboard expired the result was a 24-0 blanking that punched Melrose’s ticket to sectional semifinals and sent Wakefield home searching for answers.
On the horizon: Semifinals vs. Woburn
There are about a dozen teams left in EMass high school football with undefeated records and Freedom League champion Woburn is one of them. At 8-0 the Tanners host 6-2 Melrose Red Raiders this Friday night, Nov. 7 at Woburn High for what should be Melrose’s toughest competition since Watertown and Woburn’s toughest competition since Arlington. Worth noting – Melrose is only four points short of their own undefeated season and enter competition with three shutouts in a row, which says much about their defense. That being said, despite falling to Melrose in playoffs last season, the Tanners have enjoyed their best season since 2006. Woburn quarterback Chris Morgan is a dual threat who can run and throw, passing for over 160 yards against Reading in a 35-14 victory that stripped the Rockets of their division title for the first time in seven years. Melrose will need to contain running backs Marvin Jean and Chris Jewitt; both rushed for over 100 yards against Winchester last week. Receiver Dennis Peary is also a player who should not be left uncovered.
“Woburn is always a tough team, with good defense and are well coached,” says Morris.
The winner of this game advances to the Div. 3 Northwest finals to play against the winner of Concord-Carlisle and Arlington on Friday, Nov. 14 at a time and place TBD.
Kickoff for this Friday’s game at Woburn High School is at 7 p.m.
Division 3 Northwest Power Ratings
Rec. Pts. Rating
C.Carlisle 7-0 143 20.43
Woburn 8-0 158 19.75
Melrose 6-2 128 16.00
Arlington 6-2 122 15.25
Wayland 4-4 99 12.38
Wakefield 4-4 95 11.88
Winchester 2-6 70 8.75
Burlington 2-6 69 8.63
Belmont 1-7 46 5.75
Medford 1-7 43 5.38
Boston Latin 0-8 30 3.75
