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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Westwood High football team entered Friday night’s Division 2A South Sectional playoff game against Somerset-Berkley Regional (5-3) flying high with the second overall seed in their part of the bracket.
Unlike many of Westwood’s wins this season that have seen scoreboards light up the night from the offensive production via the Antonucci brothers, the Wolverines found themselves in a low-scoring defensive battle against SBR, gutting out an 8-0 victory thanks to a late goal line stand by the Wolverine defense.
Tight defensive play kept both teams off the scoreboard until just over two minutes left to play in the first half when Rob Antonucci ran one in from 24 yards out to give the Wolverines (6-2) the lead. Quarterback Reed Wilson connected with Jake Antonucci on the two-point attempt to put Westwood up 8-0 at the half.
The Wolverines and Raiders continued their stellar defensive efforts throughout the entire second half and the game remained 8-0 late in the fourth. With just under five minutes left to play, a Reed Wilson pass was intercepted by SBR and the Raiders took over possession deep in Wolverine territory. The Raiders now had the ball inside the red zone in the final minutes with a chance to tie the game with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion.
It was make-or-break time for the Wolverine defense after Somerset-Berkley worked the ball down inside the 10-yard line. Following a set of big tackles to keep SBR out of the end zone on the first three plays of first and goal, the outcome of the game relied on a fourth down from the five-yard line with 32 seconds remaining.
On the fourth down play, the Raiders completed a pass out into the flat and the wideout made a break for the end zone. Cornerback Rob Antonucci made a beeline towards the ball carrier and struck the receiver down at the two-yard line. Westwood took over on downs with 26 seconds remaining, killed the clock, and secured the victory.
Ed Mantie’s bunch now advances to the second round of the South Sectionals where they will host Silver Lake Regional (7-1, 4-1), who took down Scituate 28-26 in round one. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday.
