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By Jackson Lewis | Correspondent
Coach Wally Dembowski couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the 2026 season after his Winchester High football team dismantled the Lynn Classical Rams at Knowlton Stadium on Sept. 10, 38-6.
There were a whole bunch of new faces in the starting lineups for the Red & Black. The team as an example graduated 10 offensive starters off of last year’s Middlesex League championship roster.
But there was a familiar name that continued to produce positive results, and he’s placekicking extraordinaire Will Bolognese. The senior captain was a perfect five-for-five in extra points, while also tacking on a 25-yard field goal for good measure. He forced turnovers on defense and special teams, as well.
Senior captain Peter Alexopoulos stood out as the team’s quarterback. Alexopoulos controlled the game like a veteran that helped propel his teammates to the easy victory. He was a backup to Ronan O’Connell one year ago.
But Dembowski was most pleased with the work of his young offensive line.
“With a new (offensive) line in place, we ran the ball pretty well,” the coach said, “but we still have to work on our passing game a little bit.”
Winchester’s running attack quickly established itself as a strength, when senior captain Dominic Vozzella broke off several long runs, including a run that sliced through the Lynn Classical defense to account for a touchdown, his first of two in this game.
Lynn Classical struck back, however, with a rushing touchdown of its own by senior quarterback Mark Walsh. But the Rams then missed out on what would have been the game tying extra point.
The Red & Black continued to apply defensive pressure, led by Bolognese, who played a prominent role on both sides of the ball. He recovered a fumble early on in the second quarter, and later forced another crucial turnover on a kickoff return.
After senior Jibreel Osman scored the team’s second touchdown of the game on a running play, the Winchester defense continued to give opportunities to the offense, which led to Vozzella’s second score. He broke off a long run that setup his score from the one.
The Winchester boys extended the lead to 28-6 just seconds before the end of the first half on an Alexopoulos keeper, followed by another successful Bolognese extra point attempt.
The halftime break didn’t slow down the Red & Black. They continued to apply pressure on their Lynn Classical visitors, when Andrew Haigis intercepted a pass over the middle with eight minutes to go in the third quarter. Four minutes later, it led to that aforementioned field goal by Bolognese.
With the game firmly in hand, Dembowski decided to empty his bench after senior backup quarterback Stephen McCabe, Jr. scored the team’s final touchdown of the game early on in the fourth quarter.
“If you’re working your tail off in practice, the coaches are seeing that effort to give you that opportunity to play at some point,” Dembowski said.
But despite the lopsided win, Dembowski still emphasized the importance of staying focused for the next game, but right now he has few complaints.
“Overall, the attitude is good, but we just can’t get too big for our britches at this point,” he said.
According to that well-used cliché, momentum is only as good as the next game’s opponent, or in this case Acton-Boxborough, another non-league foe. The Red & Black will take on the host Revolution at Acton’s Leary Field on Friday, Sept. 18, starting at 7 p.m.
Boston University senior Jackson Lewis is a Winchester News intern for this semester.
