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It was a closer game, comparatively speaking, but the Winchester High School football team (10-0) still defeated another opponent rather decisively, this time in an Elite 8 Division 2 contest. Lincoln-Sudbury (8-2), the fifth seed, came to Knowlton Stadium on Friday Nov. 7, and it too had trouble keeping up with the Red & Black offense that ended up rolling to a 38-21 victory.
The Red & Black held a slim halftime lead over the Warriors, 14-7, before exploding for 17 points in the third quarter to put the game pretty much out of reach, 31-13. They have now outscored the opposition after 10 games, 422-111.
It’s an offensive machine that even perennial Super Bowl-contending team Catholic Memorial (7-2, top seed) has to be wary of. Catholic Memorial just happens to be their next opponent on Friday night (Nov. 21, 6 p.m.) in a state semifinal game at Medford’s Hormel Stadium.
The winner goes to Gillette Stadium to compete for the Super Bowl state championship in early December.
Senior captain Gianni DePrimeo ignited the offense with a 13-yard run to the endzone to give his teammates the lead in the first quarter. Junior placekicker Will Bolognese finished the scoring play as always with another successful extra point. He had four more in this game, plus a field goal in the third quarter.
Lincoln-Sudbury tied it up in the second quarter, but the home team was credited with the next three scores to take the lead for good.
Senior quarterback Ronan O’Connell put the Red & Black back on top with a 14-yard touchdown run later on in the second quarter, and DePrimeo then got it going again in the second half with a 42-yard run to paydirt, followed by Bolognese’s 29-yard field goal to complete another scoring drive a short time later to extend the lead to 24-7.
The Warriors trimmed the deficit later on in the third quarter with a touchdown, but a blocked extra point hurt their comeback bid. DePrimeo made them pay for it with a 33-yard TD run that pretty much sealed the deal heading into the fourth quarter, with Winchester holding a commanding 31-13 lead.
O’Connell added to the offensive assault with a 43-yard scoring strike to Ryan Martin to complete the home team’s scoring in this game early on in the fourth quarter, before the Warriors tacked on one more touchdown, plus two more points on the conversion try, to account for the 38-21 final score.
All eyes are now on Friday night for the showdown in Medford against Catholic Memorial to determine which team heads to Gillette next month to play in the Division 2 Super Bowl game. But one thing is for sure, Coach Wally Dembowski’s red-hot offense won’t be easy to slowdown, and it probably won’t matter much that its next opponent is coming out of the Catholic Conference.
The Red & Black simply know how to score on the ground and in the air with many offensive weapons at their disposal. Opposing defenses, no matter who they are, just don’t know what’s coming next.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
