Face Red Raiders tomorrow night in a Div. 3 Northwest quarterfinal at Green Field
THE WARRIORS ran a fake on the PAT conversion attempt after their third touchdown last Friday night against Burlington at Landrigan Field. Senior Chris Sapanaro (#6) fakes the kick, while senior QB Will Bergendahl (#9) gets ready to throw the ball. (Donna Larsson Photo)
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
MELROSE — There are plenty of trilogies in the movies and in books. Now there is one in the storied Wakefield Memorial High-Melrose High football rivalry as well.
The Warriors and Red Raiders will meet in the sequel for 2014 tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the Div. 3 Northwest playoffs at Fred W. Green Field.
The two rivals played each other in the regular season in September and will square off in Part 3 on Thanksgiving Day. But when the seedings and match-ups for the Div. 3 Northwest sectional were announced on Sunday, the Warriors and Red Raiders were matched up in the postseason for the first time ever.
Melrose (5-2) was seeded third in the eight-team sectional while Wakefield (4-3) is ranked sixth. The two rivals met on Sept. 26 at Green Field and the Warriors were down 17-0 until staging a big fourth quarter comeback to close the final margin to two points, 17-15. So the sequel could be a good one.
“It should be a great game for the fans. It’s a great matchup,” said Head Coach Mike Boyages. “I think both teams are stronger than the first time we played them.”
The Warriors have gone 3-1 since then with their only defeat to Middlesex League Freedom division champion Watertown. Wakefield enters the playoffs with three straight wins having routed Wilmington, Stoneham and Burlington. All three wins came on a three-game home stand.
The Red Raiders have also gone 3-1 since the two teams met over a month ago. Melrose lost by two points to Watertown and also posted lopsided wins over Burlington, Wilmington and Stoneham.
“I think both teams are similar and we’ve won by similar scores,” said Boyages. “They had a close game against Watertown and had a chance to win that game. I think there is a lot of parity in the league.”
The Warriors ran the ball primarily in their two non-league games against Lexington and Lynn English. However in the third game of the year against Melrose, Wakefield’s passing game started to click. Since that time, the Warriors have become a much more balanced team. Nowhere is that more evident than last Friday night when Wakefield rushed for 127 yards and threw for 119.
“We’ve seen plenty of Melrose on tape. We’re certainly familiar with them and vice versa. They’re familiar with us,” said Boyages. “They are solid team with speed to the outside. Their offense is pretty balanced.”
Melrose didn’t have senior running back Jack Hickey for the first game. Hickey was out with what was reported as a lacerated kidney. The senior is back, however, and Boyages believes that makes the Red Raiders a much stronger team.
“Having Hickey back makes them stronger,” said Boyages. “They have strong skill players with (Chris) Pizzotti and (Mike) Pedrini even though he’s a sophomore. Their quarterback (Jake Karelas) can run and throw the football. They also have (Zack) Mercer and he’s a good player.”
The Wakefield-Melrose playoff matchup isn’t the only one between two M.L. opponents that are also Thanksgiving Day rivals. Seventh-seeded Winchester (2-5) takes on second-ranked Woburn (7-0) in another quarterfinal match-up tomorrow night in Woburn. Woburn beat Winchester, 34-14, in the first meeting in September and the two play for a third time on Thanksgiving.
The two winners of those quarterfinal games will meet next week in the semifinals, while the two losing teams will face off in the consolation bracket next weekend. But right now, Wakefield is concentrating on evening the 2014 series at one game apiece with the rubber match on Thanksgiving.
Melrose leads the longstanding rivalry, 54-41-6, with Friday night’s game being the 102nd meeting between the schools. The rivalry dates back to 1901. Wakefield, however, leads the Thanksgiving Day 29-22-3, which dates back to 1960.
The Warriors are also 18-4-1 against Melrose over the past 21 years, but have lost two in a row dating back to Thanksgiving last year. Both contests were played at Green Field.
“We’ve had a good week of practice. We’ve got some injuries which we will have to play through,” said Boyages. “I think we’re two evenly matched teams. It could come down to a mistake or a lack of one. We’re 0-1 against Melrose (this year) and we want to get back on the winning track.”
