Waltham defense comes up big in 24-12 win at Belmont

BELMONT Strong special teams and an effective run match helped steer Waltham to a - domination over Belmont on the first night of the high school football season Waltham - secured two first-half safeties on Belmont - and later erased a second-half deficit to key the win Hawks head coach Sean Brackett explained the band was focused on starting the year on a positive note and needed to earn particular bragging rights over the nearby Marauders We knew it was going to be a battle we have been calling it a battle of the demarcation ' Brackett revealed I just required our guys to show up tonight and play Waltham football ' Waltham began by driving into the red zone before the Belmont defense got a fourth-down stop The Belmont offense had two ineffective runs before a high snap on third down resulted in a safety Waltham s Austin Lucente followed with a -yard touchdown midway through the second quarter A failed extra point gave Waltham an - lead and key momentum But not for long as Belmont s Casey Regan took the ensuing kickoff yards for the first Marauder amount A two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete Neither company could get any momentum generated on offense for the next several drives with Regan securing an interception on one promising Hawks drive but an excellent punt by the Hawks put Belmont on their own two-yard line A strong rush from the defense then resulted in the second safety of the battle Waltham would then push to the end zone after the punt but a throw to the end zone fell incomplete as time expired Belmont nearly fumbled the kickoff to open the second half but kept possession It became the Regan show with runs of and yards yards setting up a third-and- Regan dropped back before scrambling out of the pocket and then charging downfield for a -yard touchdown Now up - a quick defensive stop gave the Marauders the ball back in their own territory Belmont couldn t find any magic this time and would be forced to punt Waltham started their next drive at their own -yard line On the first play of the drive Wes O Connor broke an early tackle and took the ball to the end zone to re-establish the lead I had the mindset of I m not getting tackled on this play ' O Connor explained It worked I got the touchdown Waltham would get the two-point conversion via a run from Lucente to go ahead - The Hawks would then force a fumble on the next Marauder drive and took over deep in Belmont territory A insufficient plays later quarterback Ryan Dragone threw a strike to Jaden Ssenfuma and the senior took it yards for a touchdown It was my first start and getting ready for the varsity speed Dragone explained Once I got with it I was there Waltham starts the year off on the right foot and Brackett commented it helped him get a feel for what his band can accomplish this year We were figuring it out in the first half and then our guys who we know are going to be studs for us made plays Brackett disclosed We were working that momentum and being consistent and that worked for us