Wakefield nearly catches Winchester in 30-26 loss
SENIOR QB Anthony Cecere (#7) drops back to pass as Matt Mecurio (#53), Joe DiFazio (#45), and Alex Kane (#69) block up front. (Donna Larsson photo)
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
WINCHESTER — The one thing you can say about the 2014 Wakefield Memorial High football team is that it doesn’t quit when it falls behind by a big margin.
Unfortunately the Warriors have found themselves in that situation a couple of times this year.
Wakefield fell behind by a 30-0 score late in the second quarter but rallied for 26 unanswered points as its comeback bid came up short in a 30-26 setback against Winchester on Saturday afternoon at Knowlton Stadium.
The Warriors fell to 4-5 on the season with the loss while the Sachems earned their third victory of the season and own a 3-6 record.
As result of the loss, Wakefield will host Burlington on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Landrigan Field in the consolation bracket. Burlington lost to Wayland, 26-13.
Winchester, meanwhile, will travel to Wayland on Friday night at 7 p.m. in one of the other consolation bracket games.
The Warriors weren’t ready from a mental standpoint as they made miscues in all phases of the game for most of the first half. While Wakefield played a much better second half, the deficit proved to be too large to overcome.
“It was a tale of two halves,” said Head Coach Mike Boyages. “We couldn’t do anything right in the first half and we couldn’t click. We hung tough but just ran out of time. It’s credit to the kids that they hung in there.”
Wakefield was also without senior RB/LB Luke Martin who didn’t play due to a knee injury. It is also questionable if he will return this week against Burlington.
Senior QB Anthony Cecere overcome a slow start and threw three touchdown passes as he completed 19 of 44 passes for 221 yards. Cecere also rushed for one touchdown he gained 127 yards on 18 carries.
Senior TE Dylan Brady led the way receiving with five catches for 81 yards. Senior WRs Chris Calnan and Brian Dickey each had four catches. Calnan had 43 receiving yards and one touchdown while Dickey had 41 yards receiving and one touchdown catch. Junior WR Tighe Beck had three receptions for 28 yards and one touchdown.
Winchester was led by senior running back Tim O’Brien, senior QB Mike Grassey and senior WR Davis Clarke.
O’Brien gained 191 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown on the ground. Through the air, Grassey completed 13 of 19 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns while being intercepted once. Clarke had seven receptions for 135 yards and two TDs.
Winchester got the ball first to start the game and needed six plays to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Starting at their own 42, O’Brien gained 15 yards and then Clarke caught a 35 yard pass to set up a first down and goal at the Warrior 8. O’Brien was stopped for gains of a yard and zero yards. After an incompletion by Grassey, sophomore kicker Shaya Hedayatina kicked a 25 yard field goal to give the Sachems a 3-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first quarter.
Wakefield picked up a pair of first downs on its next drive and got the ball into Sachem territory. Jack Brown had an 11 yard run first down at the Winchester 49. After a pair of fumbles recovered by Cecere on two bad center-quarterback exchanges, Wakefield converted on a third down and 11 play as Brady caught a pass of 19 yards. After a yard loss by Calnan, three straight incompletions gave Winchester the ball back at its own 32.
O’Brien broke a 68 yard TD run to give Winchester a 9-0 lead. The kick failed as the Sachems led by nine with 5:04 left in the first quarter.
Wakefield picked up a first down at its own 37 after a 19 yard run by Cecere. But Carmen Sorrentino was dropped for a three yard loss, Cecere had an incompletion and Cecere was sacked for an eight yard loss. As a result, Wakefield punted the ball away. However a bad kick that only went forward 10 yards gave the Sachems the ball at the Wakefield 37 for its next series of downs.
Grassey had an incompletion before completing a seven yard pass to senior WR Andrew White. Grassey then lost a yard setting up a fourth down and four play from the Warrior 31. Grassey found a wide open Clarke down the middle for a 31 yard TD strike.
Hedayatina’s extra point gave Winchester a 16-0 lead with 56 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Wakefield started at its own 15 yard line after a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff. Cecere gained 20 yards, Dickey caught a five yard pass and Cecere was stopped for no gain as the first quarter ended and the teams switched sides of the field. Cecere had an incompletion on third down as the Warriors punted the ball away.
The Sachems, starting at their own 21, sustained a 10 play drive which culminated with another touchdown.
O’Brien had runs of 18 yards, one yard and 14 yards. Grassey then found junior Stephen Fitzpatrick with a 29 yard pass to bring the ball into the red zone. O’Brien gained two yards, Grassey had an incompletion, and Clarke caught a seven yard pass setting up a fourth down and one play from the Wakefield 8. O’Brien gained four yards to move the chains. After a two yard gain, Grassey hit Clarke in the end zone with a two yard pass.
Hedayatina added the extra point to give Winchester a 23-0 lead with 6:21 left in the second quarter.
Wakefield picked a first down on its next possession on a pass interference call against Winchester. However, the drive stalled and the Warriors punted the ball away from their own 45.
The Sachems final scoring drive of the game began at their own 23 and was a seven play scoring drive.
O’Brien had a five yard run and Clarke gained six yards for a first down. Clarke caught a five yard pass, Devin Marrocco gained a yard and Grassey found freshman Liam Fitzpatrick with a five yard pass for a first down. Clarke then caught a 22 yard pass to bring the ball down to the Warrior 33. Once again, a receiver was wide open down the middle and Grassey hit the Stephen Fitzpatrick in stride as he scored his third TD of the game.
Hedayatina added the PAT to give Winchester a commanding 30-0 advantage with 1:44 left in the first half.
Wakefield began its comeback with a six play scoring drive which ate up all but 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Starting their own 40 after a 21 yard kickoff return by Sorrentino, Cecere found Brady with a 19 yard pass to get the ball into Sachem territory. After an eight yard run by Cecere and incompletion, Cecere found Brown with a 14 yard pass to bring the ball into the red zone with a first down at the Winchester 19. After an incompletion, Cecere found Dickey in the back of the end zone for Wakefield’s initial TD.
Joe DiFazio ran in the two-point conversion as Wakefield trailed 30-8 at halftime.
Wakefield got the ball to start the third quarter and marched down the field to score its second TD of the game. Starting at its own 27, Wakefield needed nine plays to score.
Beck and Dickey each caught eight yard passes. Cecere recovered a fumble for a seven yard loss. He then hit Brown with a 19 yard screen pass for a first down. After two straight incompletions, the Sachems were penalized for holding which gave Wakefield a first down at the Winchester 35. Cecere then found Calnan with a 35 yard pass to the end zone.
The two-point conversion pass was incomplete but the Warriors had cut the lead to 30-14 with 8:46 remaining in the third quarter.
The Sachems, starting at their own 37, had an eight yard run by O’Brien and then a five yard run by Grassey. A personal foul penalty on Wakefield gave the Sachems the ball at the Warrior 35. O’Brien gained five yards and then was dropped for a three yard loss. After an an incompletion, a five yard catch by White was not enough for the first down as Wakefield took over.
Despite picking up a pair of first downs on a six yard catch by Beck and a holding penalty on Winchester, Wakefield couldn’t get past midfield as it punted the ball away.
Winchester started at its own 15 after fumbling the ball and nearly losing the ball. The Sachems got a first down on a nine yard reception Clarke. But a personal foul penalty moved Winchester back to its own 13. O’Brien gained 15 yards and caught a 16 yard pass for a first down as the third quarter ended.
Two plays into the fourth quarter, Grassey was intercepted by Dickey as Wakefield took over at its own 23. The Warriors needed just five plays to get into the end for the third time of the game.
Cecere gained two yards and then Calnan caught a five yard pass. Cecere then had runs of 10 yards and 22 yards to bring the ball down to the Sachem 38. After a false start penalty on Wakefield and an offside call against Winchester, Cecere called his own number once again and took the ball in from 38 yards away.
The pass on the two-point conversion play was incomplete as Wakefield cut the lead to 30-20 with 8:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Winchester, starting at its own 47, picked up two first downs as O’Brien had an 11 yard run and Grassey gained four yards on a third down and two play for a first down at the Warrior 30. After gains of four and three yards by O’Brien, Grassey had a wide open receiver drop the ball setting up a fourth down and three play from the Wakefield 23. White was dropped for a yard loss on a reverse play as Wakefield took over with 5:10 showing on the clock.
The Warriors then sustained a 16 play scoring drive to cut the lead to four points with 1:09 remaining in regulation.
After an incompletion and one yard loss on a sack, Cecere hit Brady with passes of 10 and 11 yard for a first down. After an incompletion, Cerere gained four yards. Junior RB Alex Jancsy lost five yards on a screen pass before Brady caught a 22 yard pass. An illegal block penalty pushed the ball back to the Sachem 45 but Wakefield had a first down.
After an incompletion, Cecere gained 11 yards. After another incompletion, Cecere ran for 19 yards for another first down at the Winchester 15. In between two Cecere incompletions, Calnan caught a one yard pass setting up a fourth down and nine play from the Winchester. Cecere found Beck in the right corner of the end zone for the TD.
The extra point attempt was no good, but the Warriors trailed 30-26 with a little over a minute to go which meant it was time for an onside kick with darkness settling in. The Warrior attempt went out of bounds as Winchester took over and ran out the clock.
