Wakefield takes down Melrose at Fenway Park, 20-9

Majority can only dream of playing a challenge at Fenway Park Westin McNeilly had a rare opportunity Tuesday night and decided to make it count The junior quarterback finished -of- passing registering a pair of touchdowns as Wakefield defeated Melrose for the fifth consecutive season in its annual Thanksgiving rivalry - It s crazy declared McNeilly Our coach talked about it before the contest tunnel vision It s obviously a beautiful place but we can t get distracted We each had to get the job done That s just what we did In the early stages of Tuesday night s bout players struggled to adjust to America s beloved ballpark as Melrose and Wakefield traded possessions to start The Thanksgiving showcase turned into a defensive chess match until the waning moments of the first half After the Warriors - took over with great field position at the Red Hawks -yard line with left in the second quarter McNeilly slowly worked his gang up the field Facing third down with to play in the stanza the junior quarterback fired a bullet to his right connecting with senior wideout Will Forbes for a -yard touchdown pass Carter Jefferson added an extra point and Wakefield drew first blood with a - edge Wakefield s Finn Ryan reaches for the ball against Melrose s Jack Casey during a high school football encounter at Fenway Park Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald As the final minute of the second quarter ticked away Jack Feeney propelled Melrose - on a late drive looking to get on the board The senior pushed his group into the red zone spiking the ball to stop the clock with four seconds to play in the half Junior Nate Greer followed up with a -yard field goal as the clock hit triple zeroes cutting the deficit to - at intermission As soon as the third quarter began however play opened up as Feeney marched his unit right down the field The quarterback revealed Tyler Garipay with a pass who made a tip-toe catch along the sideline for a -yard touchdown reception as the Red Hawks took a - lead It was short-lived One minute later McNeilly dropped back and fired a Hail Mary toss toward home plate Cam Sartori hauled in the pass for a -yard touchdown reception and Wakefield snatched control right back seizing a - advantage with to go in the third With the Green Monster in the background Melrose cheerleaders perform during a a football encounter against Wakefield at Fenway Park Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald The tally held into the final frame with Melrose looking to stage a go-ahead drive Feeney threw a pass toward the sideline and was picked off by Finn Ryan The sophomore corner tumbled out of bounds in the red zone for Wakefield The Warriors capitalized on the turnover moments later as junior Jaden Fullerton scampered to paydirt for a three-yard touchdown rush making it a - match with left in regulation It didn t feel real to be honest with you Fullerton noted I ve been coming to this field since I was little To be truly on the field To points a touchdown for our Thanksgiving match It was unreal I can t comprehend it still It s crazy Fullerton concluded with carries for yards rushing to aid Wakefield in the supremacy By now Warriors coach John Rafferty has been coaching long enough to see just about everything Tuesday s experience was a new one for him calling a challenge at Fenway In the end however the only thing that truly mattered was keeping up a winning tradition He took a moment to reflect on a rivalry that just witnessed its latest chapter on a grand stage Melrose's Nate Geer chases down Wakefield s Cam Sartori during a high school football match at Fenway Park Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald It s Melrose-Wakefield baby announced a chuckling Rafferty No matter what it s Melrose-Wakefield It s the bulk pivotal match It s a kid from Melrose and a kid from Wakefield It s just so fantastic and so central