RYAN BEEDE, a sophomore from Wakefield, paced the Northeast rushing attack against Masconomet on Thanksgiving, running for 95 yards and a touchdown. (Courtesy Photo)

By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI

WAKEFIELD — On Thanksgiving morning, the Northeast Metro Tech football team hosted Masconomet as their new Turkey Day opponent.

The visiting Chieftains, who are two divisions higher than the Division 5 Golden Knights ended up winning 40-20, on a rainy, raw day at Hemlock Field.

Masconomet, a team out of the Northeastern Conference, scored touchdowns on its first six possessions and never punted.

Chieftains quarterback Drew Gustafson went 11 for 14 passing for 181 yards and five touchdowns.

“They have a great offensive system and Gustafson is a very good quarterback,” said Northeast head coach Don Heres. “We were also missing our best defensive lineman and that hurt.”

Things started off well for Northeast as they took the opening kickoff and went 62 yards capped of by a one-yard run by quarterback Ryan Beede (18 rushes for 95 yards) who is from Wakefield. The kick by Jake Connors made it 7-0 with 9:21 left in the first quarter.

The big play of the drive was a 48-yard run by Isaiah Robles.

Masco answered on its first series going 58-yards as Gustafson hit Cal Weidman on a fade pass down the left side from 18-yards out.

The two-point conversion pass was no good as the Knights led 7-6.

After holding Northeast on downs, Masco set up shop at the 47-yard line after the punt.

They then took the lead for good as Gustafson hit Devin O’Brien with an 18-yard touchdown pass down the middle That pair hooked up again for the two-point conversion to make it 14-7 with 30 seconds left in the first.

On the Knights’ ensuing possession, they tried a fake punt that backfired, setting the Chieftains up at the Northeast 38-yard line.

On the next play, Gustafson connected with Weidman on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The kick by Nicco Cefalo increased the lead to 14 with 10:07 left in the first half.

Northeast responded with a 70-yard drive that lasted 8:45 capped off by a six-yard touchdown run by Robles. The kick by Connors cut the deficit to seven with 1:23 remaining.

However, Masco needed just 26 seconds to score again as Gustafson and Weidman combined once more, this time from 20-yards out as Weidman (four receptions for 84 yards) out-jumped the Knight defender in the right side of the end zone.

The PAT was no good and the game went to halftime with Masco up 27-14.

“That was a backbreaking drive,” admitted Heres. “They basically got back-to-back possessions and ended up scoring again on the first drive of the second half.”

Masco took the opening kickoff in the third quarter and drove 64-yards in 4:40 as Gustafson hit Davis Deluties with a center-screen pass scoring from 17-yards out. The kick by Cefalo made it 34-14.

The Knights scored on their next drive when Isaiah Bueno scored on a one-yard run to cap off a 70-yard drive. The PAT was blocked and the score stayed 34-20 with five-seconds left in the third.

Masco got its final touchdown driving 54-yards as Jack Fabiano (13 rushes for 94 yards) had a 37-yard touchdown run with 10:04 left in the game. The point after attempt was no good.

Northeast committed the game’s lone turnover on their next possession on a fumble but the defense stopped Masco for the first time on downs.

The Knights then were able to move the ball down the field into Masco territory before the clock ran out.

With the win, the Chieftains ended the year at 8-3 while Northeast ended up at 5-7.

The Knights had plenty of success on offense running for over 200 yards. Beede only threw the ball three times with one completion for 14 yards.

“Ryan ran the ball well and the offensive line did a good job,” said Heres.

Northeast will lose 12 seniors but only three of them were starters.

“We have a big sophomore class, so we should be good the next two years,” pointed out Heres.