A BLOCKED punt by Braden Marceau-Olayinka helped Melrose maintain a lead before falling to Wakefield on Thanksgiving Day, 15-12. (Dan Pawlowski photo)
15-12 win sends Wakefield to Super Bowl perfect
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High football team gave hometown fans quite a game on Thanksgiving when they battled at home at the 62nd Thanksgiving Classic held on Thursday, Nov. 24 at Fred Green Field in Melrose, the 112th meeting between the two teams.
And for three quarters, Melrose threatened to end Wakefield’s (12-0) perfect season heading into this weekend’s Super Bowl. But a last minute touchdown, marred by a questionable revoked penalty against Wakefield, led to Melrose’s second straight Thanksgiving loss, 15-12. Melrose finishes their season 6-5 after earning another playoff bid over the fall.
Wakefield head coach John Rafferty played all his starters, the assumption going into the game, and it paid off. Wakefield took the trophy and the undefeated season, and no one got hurt.
The Warriors trailed 12-2 going into the 4th and fought back with two touchdowns in the final nine minutes to steal the trophy out of Melrose’s hands. As heartbreaking a loss it was for Melrose players and fans, it was another epic clash between two teams who proved that anything happens on turkey day, regardless of records.
The win sends Wakefield to Div. 3 Super Bowl this Saturday, 5:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium with a perfect 12-0 record. There, they will play the unbeaten Milton Wildcats. It also follows Wakefield’s 21-13 Thanksgiving win last year, a victory that snapped a Melrose Turkey Day winning streak dating back to 2012.
It was a great last effort for Melrose seniors, who had to enjoy hushing the visiting crowd with a stellar first half effort. Both Steven Fogarty and Josh Madden helped Melrose take a 12-0 halftime lead. From there, however, Melrose would remain scoreless.
Notes Melrose head coach Tim Morris, “I thought we did some good things early one and moved the ball well. We knew they’d play their starters so we did well against them. Second half penalties hurt us, and our defense was just out there too long.”
Wakefield coach John Rafferty spoke of his team’s comeback effort. “I’ve used this word before and I’m using it again now- they’re resilient.”
Warrior quarterback Javin Willis scored a 2-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 24 seconds left, followed by a game-ending interception as the game clock ran out.
Yet, it was an impressive first half for Melrose, who combined for 115 rushing yards while Melrose senior quarterback Josh Madden went 3-for-3 with 32 passing yards to start. Notably, Melrose was 4-for-4 on 3rd down conversions in the first half. Senior captain Steve Fogarty kicked things off to put Melrose on the board first in a 12-play 9-minute drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 score.
NEWS CENTER 5 interviewed the show-stopping MHS cheer team during the 62nd Thanksgiving Classic. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)
Thereafter, Madden led a 70-yard drive with a 1-yard TD to make it 12-0 with a missed two-point attempt. Wakefield was forced to punt in the first half and turned the ball over twice. The momentum was all Melrose.
But a Warrior halftime pep talk worked. They outscored Melrose completely in the second half, limiting the boys in red and white to 18 yards of offense, stifling Melrose’s passing attack and preventing 3rd down conversions. The Warriors showed signs of their Super Bowl-earned self with an impressive 12-play drive that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown by Nate Delgado (23 carries, 136 yards). With a good PAT, Wakefield was back in the game, down just 12-9 with 7:58 left in the game. Melrose missed a critical third down conversion on their next possession, and were forced to punt after a Madden sacking.
Wakefield received the ball at their own 40 with 2:57 left.
The Warriors would rely on Nate Delgado to lead the march downfield for about 50 yards on seven carries, improbably setting Wakefield up for a 1st and goal scenario on the Melrose 5 yard line with 53 seconds left.
Then on the 2-yard line, Willis ran for a touchdown with 24 seconds remaining.
BUT…
…Officials threw a flag for illegal formation against Wakefield, which was overturned after a conference, much to the dismay of hometown Melrose fans.
“We watched the film, it was definitely illegal formation. That penalty should have held but that’s neither hear nor there,” says Morris, who noted they had their own penalties that prevented what would’ve been a third, winning touchdown.
Melrose would block the PAT, down 15-12, with 24 seconds to go. They fielded the ball at around their own 36, and with 16 seconds left, Melrose’s Madden launched a pass first that landed in the arms of Wakefield’s QB Willis, who picked off the ball against a draining clock and secured the comeback win for Wakefield.
This represents Wakefield’s first Thanksgiving win in Melrose since a 3-0 win in 2011, and the Warriors are the first team to advance to the Super Bowl undefeated since the 1999 team, who secured their spot via controversial post-Thanksgiving coin flip, and later beat Acton-Boxborough for the title.
As for Melrose, they will graduate many seniors, including captains Jack Claeys, Stephen Fogarty and Braden Marceau-Olayinka, and Josh Codair, Nicholas Marciano, Oto Albanese, Jack Morrisey, Colin Walsh, Ellis Davis, Cam Lippie, Dan O’Donnell, Trentyn Hodges, Josh Madden, Alex McLaughlin, Adonis Boyce, Tom Waden, Dom Gelgado, Ian Gauch, Nolan Maiani, Charley Krygowski, JD LaBarbera and Dan Dussault.
Morris tips his cap at them. “This is a group of seniors, to their credit, stuck together as a group, coming out of a freshman year in COVID and challenging seasons. I give them credit for doing what they did this season. There wasn’t a night off in the Middlesex Freedom league this year, with two teams going to the Super Bowl.”
But as for next season? “We have a good core coming back.”
