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After dropping a heartbreaking 29-28 decision to the Reading Rockets, the Winchester Red & Black football team (5-2) bounced back nicely to beat visiting Arlington last Friday night (Oct. 25), 51-38.
With the win, the Winchester boys inched closer in the Division 2 state power rankings from sixth to fifth in one week, according to the Oct. 29 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) seedings.
The playoffs begin on Nov. 8.
Coach Wally Dembowski, currently in his 14th season along the sidelines, admits he didn’t know what to expect from this year’s club, primarily because of the number of graduating players he had on the roster one year ago. But he was quick to add, “with only [10] seniors on the varsity, this year’s team is growing up every day on every single play.”
Dembowski has a total of 68 players in the entire program, and again only 10 of them are seniors, with three of them along the offensive line and five more on the defensive line. Two of the team’s wide receivers are also in their senior year.
With so few seniors dotting the roster, it translates into more younger players stepping up to fill the void, most of them from the junior class. There are six of them on offense, and six more on defense.
“We have a big junior class, and they are all doing a nice job,” said Dembowski.
Senior Jake Tempesta (center and defensive end) and junior Bryan Harrison (middle linebacker) are the team’s captains this season. Dembowski also chooses game day captains to give others worthy of a leadership role a chance to be a part of the process.
The back-and-forth nature of the aforementioned Reading game demonstrated the team’s ability to persist in the face of adversity. The Rockets scored what turned out to be the game winning touchdown on a broken play with two minutes to go on the clock. But that didn’t deter the Red & Black.
“We had a great two-minute drive, and was able to get the ball down to the Reading 29 with seconds left, only to come up short on a field goal attempt,” said Dembowski. “But overall, it was a great game.”
Junior tailback Gianni DePrimeo has been the team’s offensive workhorse to date, but Dembowski is not afraid to throw the ball behind the strong arm of junior quarterback Ronan O’Connell.
“We use several wideouts to move the ball downfield quickly, while also employing two tight ends to help block up front,” added the veteran coach.
Dembowski’s defensive alignment begins with three down linemen to go along with three linebackers and five in the secondary.
Winchester is in the Middlesex League Large Division. Besides Reading and Arlington, they also play the likes of Woburn, Belmont and Lexington.
The team closes out the regular season on Friday night (Nov. 1) at home against those Lexington Minutemen, starting at 6:30 p.m. After that, it’s time to get ready for those Division 2 playoffs, which begin once again on Nov. 8.
