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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Following wins over Somerset-Berkley (8-0) and Silver Lake Regional (36-22), the Westwood High football team’s spectacular run deep into the MIAA Division 2A South Sectionals came to an end on Friday evening with a 28-6 defeat at the hands of number one overall seed Falmouth in the Sectional Finals.
Senior running back Nicholas Abbatangelo (30), who battled back from a serious neck injury just to return to football action, takes a handoff from quarterback Reed Wilson (9) in his final high school playoff game. Photos by Michael Mao
Rob Antonucci and the Wolverines (7-3) were unable to find their stride on offense in the first half against a rugged Clipper defense. The Westwood defense also had its issues containing the high octane Falmouth offense, as the Clippers scored 28 unanswered points to enter halftime up 28-0.
The Wolverines came out in the second half determined not to let the deficit increase any larger than the 28 points they surrendered in the first half, and successfully thwarted the Clippers from any type of second half score.
On a night where the Westwood offense simply could not catch a break, it was the Wolverine defense that picked up the slack and put points on the board to give Westwood some hope late in the game. Senior defensive end Noah Henderson caused a fumble via a strip of the Falmouth running back at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Rob Antonucci picked up the loose football and returned it to the end zone for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-6. The two-point attempt by the Wolverines was unsuccessful following the Antonucci score.
The 28-point deficit was too large to overcome, however, as Westwood was unable to put together a scoring drive throughout the remainder of the contest, and the game ended with a final score of 28-6 in favor of Falmouth. The Clippers now advance to play the winner of the Central Sectional in the Division 2A State Semifinals, while Westwood will have two weeks to prepare for their season finale when they host Holliston in their annual Turkey Day grudge match.
