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One game does not make a season. Losses happen. And as a result, the Winchester High football team (3-1) will be looking to put the 35-21 loss to host Melrose on Oct. 2 behind them, when they head to Reading tonight (Oct. 9, 7 p.m.) to take on the Rockets, another Middlesex League rival, ready to begin another winning streak.
Even in defeat, the Red & Black are still the 10th seed, according to the Oct. 6 MIAA Division 2 power rankings. There are three teams – North Andover (seventh seed), Algonquin (eighth seed) and Chelmsford (ninth seed) – ahead of them that have the same 3-1 record.
Catholic Memorial (4 0), Bridgewater-Raynham (2-2), Peabody (4-0), Billerica (4-0), Bishop Feehan (2-2) and North Quincy (4-0) are currently the top six clubs.
However, despite being a Top 10 team, there’s a sense of regret over that loss to the Red Hawks.
“Melrose was an extremely frustrating game for us,” said Coach Wally Dembowski. “We started out executing (very well) on both sides of the ball. But the wheels then came loose, and we lost our focus, while Melrose executed in all three phases of the game for all four quarters. By comparison, we only stayed on track for two and a half quarters.”
The Red & Black had one big play in the second half, and that was a 90-yard screen pass from quarterback Peter Alexopoulos to Andrew Haigis to account for one of their three touchdowns in the game.
Wide receiver Will Bolognese caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Alexopoulos in the first quarter score, and then the senior quarterback called his own number in the second quarter that gave his teammates a brief lead, before the home team tied up the game just before halftime at 14 apiece.
The Winchester offense only rushed for 71 yards, and completed just six passes against Melrose. On the other side of the ball, the defense didn’t get any turnovers, while also missing several tackles, according to Dembowski.
While the Melrose game simply comes down to a valuable learning experience over the course of a long season, the Winchester boys are now onto Reading to paraphrase a Bill Belichick quote.
Dembowski said of the Rockets after looking at their previous games on tape: “Reading is a bigger, faster version of Melrose, and should have beaten Melrose if they did not make several mistakes, because of poor execution. We know we have our hands full playing at their place. Reading likes to run the ball first with their big strong running back Dominic Pate. They also (utilize) screen or play action / bootleg passes very well. Their kicking game is solid, and on defense they (employ) a very aggressive defensive front.”
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He has been covering Winchester sports for the News since November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
