Warriors quickly shift focus to Thanksgiving
SENIOR CO-CAPTAIN Ryan Fitzpatrick breaks the plane for Wakefield’s only touchdown against Wayland last night. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
Published in the November 10, 2017 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD — The postgame fallout from these types of losses are typically polarizing. Some teams that lose 41-6 can also lose their confidence. Other teams use it as fuel.
The Warriors hosted Wayland at Landrigan last night in their second consolation game of the season, coming off a great win at Gloucester the week before. Unfortunately, Wakefield couldn’t hang with the visiting Warriors, as Wayland took a 35-6 lead into halftime.
“We couldn’t match their physicality early in the game,” said Wakefield head coach Steve Cummings. “Hats off to them. They came in, executed and played a great game.”
Wayland jumped out to a lead on their first drive, as sophomore quarterback Mason Bolivar took an option keeper 57 yards to the end zone.
After Wakefield turned the ball over on downs at their own 36, Bolivar struck again for 26 yards, and then through a play-action touchdown on 3rd down from the nine yard line to senior tight end Sean Devlin. It was 14-0 before the home Warriors could blink.
Wakefield battled back on their next drive as they went 78 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown. Senior co-captain Ryan Fitzpatrick started it off with a 10-yard run. Junior running back Trevor Noble got 10 yards which got the bench going. Fitzpatrick converted for three more first-down runs, including a seven-yard gain on 4th and inches from the 34.
Senior Derek DiMascio busted through the middle for 15 yards to set up Fitzpatrick’s five-yard TD run, and although the PAT was blocked, Wakefield was back in the game at 14-6.
Wayland wasted no time on their next drive, as Bolivar connected with senior Ben Robinson for a 39-yard pass and catch down the right sideline. Senior RB Manny Oliver than darted 30 yards to the 1 and bruising RB Wellington Pereira punched it in for a 21-6 lead.
Wakefield moved the ball well on their next possession, but stalled at the Wayland 22.
After two big runs from Pereira, Oliver sprinted in from 10 yards for a 28-6 lead. The visiting Warriors punched one more in with just three seconds left in the half, as they controlled the field position battle throughout the whole game.
The second half was more of the same with less scoring as Wayland got one more touchdown to account for the final tally.
The bright spots for the home Warriors included promising plays from non-starters including Noble, who got a nod from Cummings for a nice 27-yard run on a jet sweep.
“It helps knowing you have a couple of guys like Trevor Noble who can fill in when you need them.”
With the score the way it was in the second half, Cummings chose to pull some of his regulars who were playing at less than 100 percent, to get them ready for Thanksgiving in two weeks.
“I want to see everyone at 100 percent two weeks from now,” said Cummings. “The last thing you want to see is a kid go down and not be able to play in that game.”
Another positive was the mentality of Wakefield’s sideline late in a game they knew was already lost.
“I’m happy with the character my kids showed. Even in the 4th quarter they were cheering for each other; there is no quit in this group.”
That’s the best sign for a team that must move on quickly from a lopsided loss.
“We have to turn the page,” said Cummings. “We got a big football game coming up with our rival.”
So it’s up to the Warriors. They can let this loss linger, or they can pick each other up and work hard for the next 13 days to get ready for the biggest game of the year.
