Sweeney’s five TD’s one shy of century-old record

Published in the November 12, 2019 edition.

By DAN BYRNE

WAKEFIELD — Friday night, it was cold up at Landrigan Field and by the time kickoff rolled around the breeze had started to pick up, making for some brisk fall football conditions.

For Dracut, they were tasked with stopping the Warriors’ rushing attack, or more pertinently, finding their way around and/or through the Warriors’ offensive line.

The Middies were not ready to deal with the thunder and lightning brought by sophomore Aidan Sweeney, junior Tucker Stikeman and senior Wes Pierre, as they tallied 305 yards and seven touchdowns between the three of them. In total, the Warriors marched for 347 rushing yards en route to a 49-14 victory.

“The kids were very motivated,” said Wakefield head coach John Rafferty. “They’re into it. They just love playing football and that’s a great thing. They’re a really great group to work with.”

The big boys up front had a field day tossing aside Middie defensive linemen and opening up gaping holes for the Warrior backs to run through. Wakefield’s senior leadership shined bright throughout as offensive linemen Anthony DeVito, Liam Cosgrove, Jake Sowyrda, and Taaj Andrews along with freshmen Phil D’Alleva and Ian Dixon broke holes in the Dracut front seven, allowing the running backs to reach the second level of the defense on nearly every carry. Chris Miller helped set the edge from the tight end spot, allowing Sweeney, Stikeman, and Pierre the option to bounce it outside and pick up chunks of yardage.

Sweeney ran the ball 18 times for 193 yards and 5 touchdowns, placing him just one score behind Tate Cummings’ 1919 Warriors record of 6 TD’s in one game. Stikeman had eight carries for 49 yards and a touchdown, while Pierre ran seven times for 63 yards and a touchdown. Junior place kicker Danny Hurley tied his 1-year old record of seven PAT’s in a game.

Warrior quarterback Joe Alden only needed to attempt three passes, with the senior going 2/3 for 23 yards.

However, it wasn’t all offense as the Warrior defense managed to make some big plays on the other side of the ball, led by the same cast of characters that did the damage on offense.

With the lead, the Middies were forced to have their QB drop back to pass and put the ball up in the air, and Wakefield’s defense knew the pass was coming.

The Warrior pass rush had J.C. Santiago scrambling for his life, and chucking up prayers that led to three interceptions.

One of the biggest plays came in the second quarter with the game still in the balance. The Warriors had just scored to break a 14-all tie and take a 21-14 lead.

Dracut had the ball and was moving towards Wakefield territory, when senior captain Liam Cosgrove rose up and picked off a Santiago pass from his defensive line position, leading to a rumbling run back to the 12-yard line that set up Stikeman’s touchdown to make the score 28-14 and the rout was on.

Wakefield’s defensive pressure and tight coverage in the secondary led to Santiago also being picked off by Pierre just before halftime and Stikeman in the 4th quarter to seal the deal.

After the Stikeman pick, Rafferty sent in freshman QB Javin Willis, along with sophomore Leo Yardumian and junior Mykease Driggers to run out the clock, sending the Warrior faithful back home feeling a bit warmer with a win.

It was a special evening all around for the Warriors and their fans as the team put together a dominant performance in all three phases of the game.

At halftime, the dance team and band performed parts of their well-rehearsed routines, and in a touching tribute the Warriors honored a trio of Wakefield Memorial High School living legends in recently retired guidance counselor AJ Beebe, long time building sub and Warrior superfan Felix Freeman, and 33-year Warrior football and basketball special assistant coach Joey Elcewicz.

Looking ahead for the Warriors, they are just two weeks away from the biggest game of the season – Thanksgiving Day against Melrose. However, the team will suit up once more before they clash with the Red Raiders, as this Friday they head to North Reading for a 5 p.m. kickoff with the Hornets.