By Max Clifford
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
A thrilling first half of football in Medfield took a turn for the unusual when a broken floodlight left the field only 3⁄4 illuminated and unsafe to play on in the Warriors' tilt against the Westwood Wolverines last Friday night.
The second half was moved to Westwood, where the “visiting” team enjoyed home field advantage, rolling to a 21-6 victory.
Fans from both Medfield and Westwood found themselves celebrating defensive play early as each of the game’s first four drives ended with a punt.
Following a strip-sack from Westwood linebacker Thomas Techiera, quarterback Brendan Donegan found wide receiver Jack McDaniels for a five yard touchdown.
After a few stalled Medfield drives, running back Will Griffin found a crease and broke off a 40-yard run to set the Warriors up inside the 15 yard line with under 30 seconds to play. After a few failed attempts to reach the end zone, Medfield’s scoring hopes came down to the final play of the half. Rolling out to his right, quarterback Nick Hasapidis found tight end Nick Gangemi in the back of the end zone to cut the Westwood lead to 7-6.
The Warriors’ momentum encountered an unexpected obstacle as a halftime power outage extended the break. To make matters worse for the home team, when power returned to the field lights, only three of the four turned on.
After discussion between officials and coaches, it was announced to the crowd that the second half of the game would be played at Westwood High School. Players from both teams boarded buses in full pads to make the trip.
Many of the Medfield fans, who had been so excited after the Gangemi touchdown, did not make the trip to Westwood for the second half. Conversely, Westwood fans turned out in even greater numbers to accentuate the home-field advantage for the “visiting” team.
It became clear early in the second half that the Wolverines were a completely different team on their home turf. Out of the half, they put together a 67 yard scoring drive, punctuated by a rushing touchdown from running back Antonio Maroun. Westwood would not allow a point in the second half as they went on to win by a final score of 21-6.
When asked about how his team dealt with such unusual circumstances, Westwood head coach Brad Pindel credited his senior leaders. “We had adversity in the first half over in Medfield, we weren’t hitting on all cylinders,” he said. “They kept them focused and ready to go. They kept the energy up.”
Following the quasi-home game in week five, Westwood (4-1) will host Ashland (3-2) on Friday, October 14. Medfield (1-4) will have a second attempt at their senior night when they host Hopkinton (4-1) on October 14.
