Warriors win thriller over Watertown, 21-14

Wakefield will travel to Marblehead on Friday for D4N quarterfinals

Published in the October 23, 2017 edition

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

WAKEFIELD — The Warriors came into Friday’s game at Landrigan Field with plenty on the line.

Even though a playoff spot was all but guaranteed, Wakefield needed a win to move up in the seedings, to make sure they were playing their best football heading into the playoffs, and most importantly, to give the seniors a great memory for what they hope is their last home game of the season. The Warriors checked all of those boxes in this one, as they held on to beat Watertown in an instant classic.

The Raiders got the ball to start the game, and even though they moved the chains during their first two plays from scrimmage, it was Wakefield’s defense led by co-captain Devin O’Brien that set the tone in this one, as he blew up Watertown’s second down running play for a loss of seven yards, forcing a 3rd-and-long and eventually a punt.

The Warriors went three-and-out, but senior Henry Stikeman recovered sophomore Cam Souza’s punt after it nicked a Raider on the bounce, giving Wakefield the ball on the Watertown 35.

Senior co-captain Ryan Fitzpatrick rumbled 12 yards on the next play, but Watertown’s defense would bear down again, forcing a 4th-and-5 that turned into a first down after a pass interference call.

On third-and-goal from the 10, Wakefield’s offensive line got off the blocks and allowed junior RB Danny Marinaccio to find the edge on an option and get into the end zone. Freshman kicker Dan Hurley made it 7-0, and Landrigan was rocking once again, seemingly reaching a decibel level that was tough to beat, that is until O’Brien recovered a fumble that was lost by Watertown’s Mange Camara.

“Our defense was opportunistic and we took advantage of the good field position,” said Wakefield head coach Steve Cummings.

The Warriors took over from their own 43. Senior Derek DiMascio (4 carries, 24 yards) rushed up the middle for 12 yards, but Watertown once again forced a 4th down at the Raider 36. The Warriors put the ball in Fitzpatrick’s hands behind the veteran line and three tough yards later, Wakefield was in business.

Although Wakefield’s drive would stall at the Watertown 4, the defense continued to be dominant for Wakefield as they got the ball back at the Watertown 29. Junior quarterback Mike Lucey connected with senior co-captain Brendan Coughlin over the middle for 22 yards, bringing the ball to six yard line.

Senior Bobby Keegan took a pitch on second down to the edge, and got in the end zone for a 14-0 lead. It was a play that Cummings had been waiting a long time to call.

“We haven’t pulled and ran that option successfully all year, but Keegan got in which was huge,” said Cummings. “He’s been working hard to learn the new tailback position and been working his way in more and more.”

Wakefield did a nice job managing the clock during that drive, something that would happen again later in the game. Stick with me.

Time of possession in the third quarter was dominated by Watertown, as they put together a 13-play, 55-yard drive for a 3-yard touchdown run from QB Nick McDermott.

The Raiders forced Wakefield’s second three-and-out to get the ball back at the beginning of the 4th quarter.

“Second half Watertown made some nice adjustments, they really clogged the middle and we weren’t able to get to the edge like we did in the first half,” said Cummings. “We talked all week about how this game won’t be easy.”

The Raiders made sure that was true with another nice drive capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass from McDermott to Yoseph Hamad.

Wakefield’s ensuing drive stalled after a holding penalty, forcing the defense to step up once again.

Marinaccio stuck the first running play for a no gain and the Warriors forced an incomplete after good quarterback pressure from O’Brien and senior co-captain Alex Joly. Coughlin picked up a huge sack on 3rd down to force another punt.

So, with just under two minutes remaining, the Warriors went to work. Mariniaccio (3 carries, 36 yards) picked up a first down on an 8-yard run, Fitzpatrick (19 carries, 65 yards) picked up 10 for another first down, and Lucey got 8 to set up second and 2 from the 36. It was time for the play of the season, as Lucey threw a bomb down the right sideline, and senior Cole Gregson ran under it, making a great contested grab at the one yard line. The Warriors took a timeout with 32 seconds to set up a game-winning play.

“He’s tough on himself,” said Cummings of Gregson. “He dropped one last night at practice and was beating himself up, but as the ball was in the air I was thinking to myself, this is the one he’s going to catch. That was huge.”

After Fitzpatrick mishandled the first snap from the wildcat, forcing another timeout, coach Cummings went right back to his senior leader with the same play on second down. Fitzpatrick rewarded his coach with the winning touchdown, giving Wakefield a dramatic 21-14 victory.

“If he doesn’t get in I’m calling a timeout with four seconds left, and my freshman kicker is going to put one through the uprights for the win, and I don’t doubt him for a second, but it’s nice to take the decision out of my hands,” said Cummings. “Our offensive line did a great job on that play.”

The seniors took a victory lap around Landrigan one last time, bringing an end to a night they will never forget.

“Nothing better than playing at Landrigan on Friday night under the lights with the Red Sea behind you,” said senior Dan Cataldo, who played a great game on the offensive line and at outside linebacker. “Not once did I think we would lose that game. We have a lot of faith in each other.”

“It’s really sad to leave but I’m excited we got to go out like this in such a close game with such big plays at the end. It was awesome,” added Gregson.

The win cemented the seven seed for the Warriors and since Marblehead held on to beat Danvers, Wakefield will travel to Marblehead on Friday for the D4 North quarterfinals. The Magicians are a perfect 7-0 this season, but Wakefield isn’t paying much attention to the names of their next opponent.

“Doesn’t matter who’s in front of us, as long as we prepare next week,” said Keegan.

All the Warriors care about is playing their best football.

“Our goal the whole season was to get in this part of the year playing our best football, and I’m hoping what we did tonight puts us in that direction,” said Cummings. “We’re 0-0 right now just everyone else in that tournament.”

Every single player on this team can say they left it all on the field, especially the seniors, who were going to do whatever it took to make their last game at Landrigan one to remember.

“This was a big game for us. We had our fans behind us, it was senior night; we had to fight and we did all we could,” said Fitzpatrick, who speaks for the team when it comes to their chances of knocking of the undefeated Magicians. “We’ve been the underdogs going into every week this year. It doesn’t matter. We’re going in there and laying everything on the line to get the win.”