THE SENIORS will lead the Warriors into the 64th Thanksgiving Day game tomorrow morning at Fred Green Field. Pictured in the front row from left to right is Cade Esposito, John Fitzgerald and Matthew Beaver. In the back row from left is Luke Dixon, Ryan Fowler, Zach Courtright, Jackson Fitzpatrick, Ian Christie and Calvin Bryant. (File Photo)
Game: Wakefield vs. Melrose
When: Thursday, 10:15 a.m.
Where: Fred Green Field
Narrative: The 6-4 Wakefield Warriors will travel to 4-6 Melrose in the 64th Thanksgiving Day game. It is the rivalry’s 114th all-time meeting dating back 123 years to 1901. Melrose has the all-time series lead 62-44-7. Wakefield has the edge in Thanksgiving games, which started in 1960, with 34 wins to Melrose’s 26. There have been three ties on Thanksgiving, the most recent one being the most famous as the 14-14 tie in 1999 resulted in a coin flip to decide who would go on to the Super Bowl.
Wakefield is 1-0 on coin flips.
Wakefield has been victorious in the last three Thanksgiving Day games. They snapped Melrose’s eight-game winning streak in 2021 with a 21-13 decision. In 2022, Wakefield beat Melrose 15-12 before going on to complete a perfect season by winning the program’s second Super Bowl, joining the ’99 team. The Warriors made it three in a row last year with a 7-3 victory at Landrigan Field.
Key Wakefield interceptions were the theme in all three of their most recent Turkey Day wins.
In 2021, Jack Berinato’s pick six with under 3 minutes to go extended Wakefield’s lead, thwarting the visitors who were driving for the win down 15-13.
In 2022, QB Javin Willis completed his great offensive game by playing defense, coming down with an interception to end it with Melrose down 3.
Last year, Myles Sanchez finished off Wakefield’s last-second, goal-line stand by intercepting a pass in the end zone, once again with Melrose threatening to win the game.
The Warriors started their season 1-4 with a win over Beverly and losses to Greater Lawrence, Lynnfield, Burlington and Winchester. They are now on a five-game winning streak with wins over Watertown, Wilmington, Stoneham, Lynn Classical and Revere. Wakefield was rated at No. 19 in the final Div. 4 power rankings. Only the top 16 make the state tournament.
Melrose went 4-4 in the regular season with wins over Swampscott, Woburn, Watertown and Wilmington. They fell to Peabody, Reading, Stoneham and Burlington. Melrose earned the No. 15 seed in the Div. 4 tournament and fell to No. 2 Scituate 41-7 in the first round. Scituate is playing No. 1 Duxbury in the Super Bowl.
Wakefield is led by a pair of sophomores on offense: quarterback Westin McNeilly and running back Jaden Fullerton.
Fullerton has racked up 927 rushing yards and 17 TD’s in 9 games this season.
McNeilly has thrown for 1,296 yards and 12 TD’s in 10 games.
McNeilly’s favorite targets are seniors Jackson Fitzpatrick and John Fitzgerald along with junior Will Forbes. Fitzpatrick, a 6’4” tight end, leads the team in TD receptions with 5 to go with 225 yards. Fitzgerald has 2 TD’s and over 200 yards while Forbes leads in yards with 450 while also adding 3 TD’s.
Wakefield and Melrose have played four common opponents this season, all fellow Middlesex League Freedom Division foes. The Warriors are 3-1 against those teams while Melrose is 2-2. Both squads have defeated Watertown and Wilmington while both fell to Burlington. The biggest difference is against Stoneham. The Spartans beat Melrose 21-14 while Wakefield beat Stoneham 31-28 in the team’s signature victory of the season.
Both Stoneham and Burlington had 4-1 marks against Freedom Division opponents. A win for Wakefield on Thanksgiving would create a three-way tie for first place in the division.
