Take on Sachems tomorrow afternoon at Knowlton Stadium
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
WINCHESTER — If the Wakefield Memorial High football team feels like it is experiencing deja vu, there is a good reason why the Warriors have that emotion. They are.
For the second straight year, Wakefield was eliminated in the quarterfinal game of the Div. 3 Northwest playoffs and for the second consecutive year, the Warriors will have a road game at Winchester in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Wakefield meets Middlesex League Liberty division rival Winchester tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. at Knowlton Stadium.
The Warriors enter the game with a 4-4 overall record after being blanked by rival Melrose, 24-0, in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Winchester is 2-6 after being routed by rival Woburn, 42-14, in the playoff opener.
Wakefield wants to get back on track with a victory as it did last year when it prevailed by a 28-14 score. With any hopes of playing in a Super Bowl gone, the Warriors want to finish the regular season strong. They also want to get a winning record and a win over the Sachems would be a big boost toward that goal.
“Winchester’s had a tragic year with the death of one of their captains,” said Coach Mike Boyages. “They have some good skilled kids. I know they hung on tough in games against Arlington, Reading and Woburn. They’ve played some good teams and I’m sure it will be a good game.”
Boyages is referring to the death of senior captain Pat Gill who died in a tragic automobile accident in September. All 12 teams are honoring Gill’s memory by wearing a decal on their helmets with his number 11 on it.
The Sachems have forged on and are led by senior QB Mike Grassey who stands at 6-4, 210 pounds. Grassey has thrown for 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns. His primary targets are Davis Clarke and Steven Fitzpatrick.
Jimmy Crowther, a senior two-way lineman is also a key player for Winchester.
Wakefield heads into the game not very healthy, so that also will make things tough for the Warriors. The biggest injury is to senior RB Luke Martin who suffered a knee injury on the final play of the Melrose game last week. His status is questionable to play on Saturday according to Boyages.
Not only could Wakefield be without Martin but junior running backs Zach Kane and Paul McGunigle have been out as well. Kane missed last week’s game and McGunigle hasn’t played much since being hurt in the Lynn English game.
“Pat Casaletto, a senior, and Alex Jancsy will be in the backfield. We also have Joe DiFazio (at fullback), said Boyages. “Our backfield will be inexperienced.”
That means the Warriors could rely more on senior QB Anthony Cecere to run the ball and throw the ball. His primary receiving targets are senior wide receivers Chris Calnan and Brian Dickey, junior WR Tighe Beck and senior TE Dylan Brady.
“We’re disappointed with the result of the playoff game against Melrose but we have another shot at them,” said Boyages. “We want to win the final three games and finish with a 7-4 record which is solid. We’re looking forward to Saturday. We’ve had some good games against Winchester in the past. We’ll be playing in the daylight which we don’t do very often anymore.”