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Reading Rockets 13, Westford Jr. Ghosts Unlimited 0
Jake Materazzo, Ryan Battle, Kevin Ma and Craig Palmer had great games on defense. Nate Damiani connected on 3 long passes to Luke Wauford. Nate Arsenault, Jack Wilson and Pete Bonenfant had great blocking for the Ghosts. Westford plays Cambridge at Westford Academy on Sunday.
Reading 28, Westford Jr. Ghosts B Team 0
As the rain pelted down on the field at Westford Academy, it was a dark and dreary day for the Westford Junior Ghost B Team as they were blanked by the Reading Rockets, 28-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The game started out promising as the Reading Rockets fumbled the opening kickoff and gave Westford excellent field position at the 46-yard line. And after Michael Kennedy and Tadgh Murray gained positive yards on the ground, a holding penalty was quickly followed by 2 plays of negative yards forcing Westford to punt. And that’s when Reading got going.
Kyle Flanagan received the punt at his own 10-yard line and then slashed through the Westford defense for a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown. Flanagan became a one-man wrecking crew for the Rockets, even scoring the extra point on his own touchdown.
On Reading’s next drive, he would account for 21 of a 31-yard drive before Dana Isbell scored the Rocket’s second touchdown.
Westford’s defense, led by James Decelles, Elliot Kane, and Michael Witkum, forced Reading to turn the ball over on downs on the Rockets’ next possession. But Westford’s offense could not get anything going and immediately gave the ball back when a 4th and 15 play was denied by the Rockets.
Taking over at the Westford 44, Nick Perez took a handoff and scampered in for a 44-yard touchdown run. A two-point kick by Ben Regazzini made it 21-0.
The Westford offense, already hurt by injury to starting quarterback Ben Gomez had another setback on Sunday when perhaps their most valuable skill player, Michael Kennedy, left the field with an apparent shoulder injury in the third quarter. He would only return to the field to kick punts for the rest of the game.
Having lost Kennedy, the offense sputtered in the second half. On two consecutive drives, they lost six yards and on their third possession, Reading intercepted a Kyle Murray pass intended for Elliot Kane.
But give the Jr. Ghosts credit as their defense stayed strong and allowed only one second half touchdown to the Rocket even after losing one of their best defensive players, Alex Blais to a knee injury. In fact, Tadgh Murray had a highlight-reel play when he bull rushed Reading’s offensive line, stuffed Ryan Segalla in the backfield, caused Segalla to fumble, and recovered his own forced fumble.
Overall, it is a day the Ghosts B Team would probably like to forget. Next week the Lexington Minutemen visit the Junior Ghosts at 12:30.
Westford C Team 33, Reading 13
Captains Ryan Blagg, Luke Fremault, Oliver McDonald, Ethan Ewing, Luke Reynolds and Joshua Keith led their team onto their home field Sunday looking to maintain their undefeated season and they did exactly that with a big win over Reading.
For most of the first half, Westford could not find their groove but their grit and tenacity proved too much for Reading as they came alive late in the second quarter. After a few turnovers and two Reading touchdowns, Joshua Keith sparked the offense with a 30-yard carry into Reading territory. Ewing had two receptions and then a Reynolds to Blagg pass into the endzone got Westford on the scoreboard. Reynolds carried the ball back over the goal line for the extra point.
The second half was all Westford. Drew Wilson and Joey Bella paved the way for Reynolds and Ewing to find the end zone two more times in rapid succession. Bella made some key tackles including one sack which caused a fumble that was recovered by Wilson. Westford’s fourth touchdown was the result of blocking by CJ Schuster, Conor Moncreaff, Sam Brewster and Michael Faia who allowed Ewing to run sixty yards down the field and into the end zone. Luke Fremault made a strip sack which was recovered by Wilson late in the 3rd quarter.
Tyler Murray, Daniel Hickey, Michael Picanso and Henry Babineau helped to force another turnover on the Reading 5-yard line. The entire offense plowed past Reading and into the end-zone for Westford’s fifth touchdown.
Westford plays at home against Lexington next Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
Westford Jr. Ghosts D Team 26, Reading Rockets 0
The Jr. Ghosts D Team extended its league-leading record to 5-0 with a decisive 26-0 win over Reading.
Westford’s opening drive was slowed by a number of self-inflicted miscues during a game played in a persistent light rain, its march downfield seeming to follow a path of “two steps forward, one step back.” But with Westford advancing down to the Reading 11, tight end James McDermott swept around the left end for the Jr. Ghosts’ first score of the game and his first touchdown of the season. Bobby MacCormack powered around the right end and directly through a Reading defender for the extra point.
Throughout the game, Westford’s offensive line provided enough time and opportunities for runners to escape Reading pursuers. Blocking from Ben Schaffer, Tony Babineau, Carter Scanlan, Faith Williams, and Mason Bergeron helped propel the Jr. Ghosts running attack. Two more long drives two more MacCormack touchdown runs brought the score at the half to 19-0.
Reading appeared energized to start the third quarter and launched a drive that carried deep into Westford territory but the solid Jr. Ghosts defense stopped a 4th and long and regained possession. Charlie Bonenfant scored his first touchdown of the season on a darting run around the left end, and Andrew Stodden added an extra point to cap the scoring at 26-0.
Odin Scott, Chris Fahlman, Thurman Hargrove, and Tyler Schutt shut down the inside for most of the game, while Tanner Whitehouse, Alex Wilson, Quinn Reynolds, and Matt Morash prevented any long gains on the outside. McDermott snagged an interception late in the game, and also deflected a long pass that stopped a Reading drive.
The Jr. Ghosts D team is at home against Lexington Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
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