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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It was a defensive struggle, but the Westwood High football team got it done on Friday night during their annual Westwood Night contest against TVL newcomer Norwood at Flahive Field, grinding out a hard-fought 7-6 victory to climb back to .500 at 2-2 on the season.
Norwood jumped out to a 6-0 lead, thanks to a pair of Jay Wladkowski field goals, to go ahead 6-0 midway through the second quarter.
Following the latter or the two field goals, quarterback Jacob Pfaff responded for Westwood, firing up a deep ball to senior captain Braden Loughnane, who scampered 47 yards into the end zone to give the Wolverines a 7-6 lead at the half after a successful PAT by Connor Danieli.
The game remained 7-6 after three quarters, thanks to a pair of three-and-outs forced by the Westwood defense.
The Wolverine defense continued to dominate the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter, forcing a punt before stopping the Mustangs on downs with under three minutes to play to get possession back for the offense. The Wolverines picked up a pair of first downs, thanks to a series of tough runs by Shamar Hall, and hung on for the one-point victory.
“We’ve took a couple tough losses in a row to North Quincy and Holliston, so to be able to bounce back and win one in front of the whole town says a lot about the mentality of this team and our work ethic,” said senior center Declan Burke following the victory. “We’re excited to keep working and improving because we’re definitely not done yet.”
Westwood will look to stick to their winning ways when the Wolverines host rival Medfield on October 5.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0.
