Table of Contents
So far in the early going, there’s not much for Winchester High School football coach Wally Dembowski to criticize. His team is a perfect 4-0, with the latest dominating win coming against host Wakefield last Friday night (Oct. 3), 42-7.
The Red & Black have outscored their opponents, 182-43, and in three of those games, they won by the exact same score of 42-7. They have not only been good, but very consistent at the same time. To prove that point, in the latest Division 2 Oct. 7 power rankings, they are seeded fifth.
What’s Dembowski most pleased about to date? He simply said: “It’s the balanced offensive attack of 243 rushing yards and 253 passing yards (against Wakefield), and also successfully completing their own individual (overall) assignments.”
The veteran coach then went on to praise the team’s tackling and pass defense to date. Suffice to say, the 4-0 record is a result of the entire team being on the same page. They all seem to understand what it takes to develop a winning formula.
The Winchester boys led the Warriors at halftime, 21-7, and it was more of the same in the second half.
Senior quarterback Ronan O’Connell got the offense going in the first quarter with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Ted Budreski. Junior Will Bolognese then booted his first of six successful extra points.
Senior captain Gianni Deprimeo finished off the next drive with a 14-yard run to the endzone. Wakefield then scored its lone touchdown of the game to begin the second quarter, but O’Connell got it right back on a 10-yard keeper.
Deprimeo picked up where the team left off in the first half with a three-yard TD run to start the third quarter. Junior signal caller Peter Alexopoulos then hooked up with Budreski for a 68-yard scoring strike. Nolan Byrne closed out the game with a 15-yard jaunt to paydirt in the fourth quarter.
Senior Nicky Rotondi (3 carries, 76 yards), Deprimeo (11 carries, 100 yards, 2 TDs) and Bryne (4 carries, 40 yards, 1 TD) were the team’s leading rushers against Wakefield.
O’Connell completed 10 of 12 passes for 185 yards, and one touchdown. Budreski was on the receiving end of five passes for 175 yards, and two touchdowns.
The defense was led once again by senior captain Bryan Harrison with eight solo tackles and one assisted stop. Deprimeo was credited with four solos, one assisted tackle and one interception. Junior linebacker Eddie Sim was involved in five tackles. Bolognese, also a defensive back, picked off one pass.
Dembowski singled out the entire offensive line for doing an outstanding job controlling the line of scrimmage throughout the game. He also mentioned O’Connell’s pinpoint passes, Harrison’s impact at linebacker and the defensive line’s continuing pressure on the opposing quarterback and running backs.
But Wakefield is in the past, and the Red & Black now await the Reading Rockets, who come to Knowlton Friday night (Oct. 10) to take them on in another Middlesex League battle, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Dembowski says of the Rockets: “They run a multiple offense with one, two, three back sets. They also have good speed at the skill positions, and have scored 109 points in four games. They (employ) three and four down looks on defense, while also utilizing multiple coverages and stunts. It’ll definitely be an assignment challenge for us on both sides of the ball in this game.”
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
