Warriors drop game one to Greater Lawrence, 29-22 on last-second fumble

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

ANDOVER — Very rarely are football games won or lost on one play. 

It’s fair to say that happened on Friday night. 

With Wakefield and Greater Lawrence Tech tied, 22-22 and 20 seconds left on the clock, the Warriors came out of a timeout ready to punch it in on 1^st-and-goal from the 2-yard line to start their season with a hard-earned, road victory. 

Instead, disaster struck. 

A short pitch from sophomore QB Westin McNeilly to sophomore RB Jaden Fullerton sailed high, the ball seemingly freezing in mid-air as the momentum of the Warriors and Reggies went in opposite directions. There to scoop it up after one bounce was Greater Lawrence’s Dylan Smith who took it 93-yards to the house amidst pure chaos and shock. 

The Reggies took an inconceivable 29-22 lead with 5 seconds left and a last-chance Hail Mary for the Warriors fell to the turf, bringing to an end one of the most heartbreaking losses in recent Wakefield football history.

Of course, it’s important to view the whole scope of the game. True to form for most everybody’s Week 1, the Warriors had some success mixed with some inconsistencies. 

“We played well at times and other times we made some serious errors,” said Wakefield head coach John Rafferty. “It cost us.”

McNeilly went 11-for-20 for 144 yards and 2 TD’s. Senior TE Jackson Fitzpatrick had 4 catches for 56 yards and 2 TD’s. Both of their touchdown connections occurred on 4^th downs, matching the narrative of an up-and-down first game. 

Junior captain Myles Sanchez rushed for 70 yards on 19 carries including a 1-yard TD to give the visitors a 7-0 lead in the 1^st quarter.

That roller coaster theme also rang true defensively and on special teams, with the Warriors surrendering 121 rushing yard and 98 passing yards while also racking up five tackles-for-loss and earning a few big stops on 3^rd down. 

A successful fake punt kept the Reggies’ first scoring drive going and Varela had a 75-yard TD return to open the second half. On the other special teams side, junior kicker Carter Jefferson hit a huge, 29-yard field goal to tie the game with 6:50 left to play. 

After that kick, the defense quickly forced a three-and-out with junior Christian DiFlorio picking up a sack on a 3^rd-and-6 scramble attempt. 

After a poor punt, Wakefield took over on the Reggie 41 with 4:32 left. 

Later, on 4^th-and-7, McNeilly found senior captain TE Matthew Beaver over the middle for 13 yards, continuing a theme of 4^th-down passing success for the sophomore signal-caller in this one. McNeilly then connected with junior William Forbes for 7 yards and Sanchez later powered through on 3^rd-and-1 with an impressive second effort to move the chains. Wakefield gave him the rock on the next two plays with time dwindling down and the captain delivered with 9 yards, setting Wakefield up on the 2 as they took a timeout with 20 seconds left. It was perfectly set up before the fumble essentially ended the game.

The Warriors had a hard time containing Greater Lawrence Tech’s junior RB Gustavo Varela who broke 100 yards rushing on 20 carries including a 4-yard TD to tie the game at 7-7 late in the first half. Overall, the Reggies most definitely looked like a playoff team, and much better than their season-opening losses to Wakefield in each of the last three years. 

“They’re vastly improved,” said Rafferty. “Good line, excellent back, very efficient QB. They’ll have continued success this season with a complete team like that.”

The Warriors finished the first half strong, going 79-yards on 9-plays and just over two minutes to score with 25 seconds left in the half.

Senior captain John Fitzgerald had the second most important play of the drive catching a perfect ball from McNeilly down the left sideline for a 33-yard gain.

The most important play came on 4^th-and-5 from the GL 11-yard line with 31 seconds on the clock. Fitzpatrick came across the field on a drag route and the offensive line did a nice job of letting the play develop as McNeilly took his time and found his big tight end who controlled it, shrugged his defender and marched in to make it 13-7 at the break.

Varela wasted no time in giving his team the momentum back, taking the second half kickoff 75 yards to the end zone through an impressive display of multiple broken tackles and breakaway speed, giving the home team a 14-13 lead.

Wakefield’s response was also swift as Sanchez returned the ensuing kickoff into Reggie territory and the Warriors went 58-yards to reclaim the lead. 

The touchdown once again came on a 4^th-down TD from McNeilly to Fitzpatrick, this time on 4^th-and-7 from the 27 making the score 19-14 after a failed two-point try.

“(McNeilly) knows, with someone like Fitz, when he has single coverage, you throw him the ball,” said Rafferty. “Wes threw some great balls and they were both very productive together.”

Wakefield got the ball back after a three-and-out with the key play coming from junior Luciano Rossetti who blew up a run attempt on 2^nd down for a big loss. 

Wakefield couldn’t capitalize on the next series, also going three-and-out. 

That led to a 65-yard scoring drive for the Reggies which concluded the third quarter and started the fourth as they took a 22-19 advantage with 10:16 left in a game that included two ties and three lead changes. 

The Warriors moved the chains enough on their next possession to set up Jefferson’s clutch kick, but of course, the Reggies came up with the biggest play of the game to steal a Week 1 win.

Wakefield will have some time to regroup as they have a bye week before their next game, which is on Friday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m. against Lynnfield at home. The Pioneers kick off their season this Friday at North Attleboro. Lynnfield went 9-2 overall last year and have one of the best programs in the Cape Ann League.

Of course, the season always goes one of two ways after a heartbreaking loss in Week 1. Wakefield has the opportunity to decide.

“The only way to take care of disappointment is to literally get back to work and get your mind right,” said Rafferty. “We have a lot of time to prepare for our next one so we’re going to make the most of it.”