Westwood dominates Hopkinton

By Owen Ziegler
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter

On a very, very rainy Thursday night, the Westwood Wolverines football team matched up with TVL rivals, Hopkinton. The muddy game ended with a win for Westwood, 14-0, their second shutout of the season.

With the absence of receiver Charlie Jessup, and the lingering injuries to Westwood's receiving core, sophomore Teddy Mcgowan has stepped up all season. He finished the game with both Westwood receiving touchdowns, also tacking on 65 receiving yards. The first touchdown came very early in the first quarter, following a bobbled punt by Hopkinton, Pindel tossed to McGowan for a 20 yard reception for the touchdown. Even through the rain, senior kicker Jonathan Bertone was automatic, as per usual, hitting 2/2 extra points. Going into the 2nd quarter the score was 7-0, in Westwood's favor.

Westwood started with the ball in the 2nd quarter, where senior running back Narawut Kam held the ball steady, advancing Westwood into scoring position. Kam has proved to be the workhorse of this offense, finishing with 22 carries for 65 yards rushing. In scoring position, Pindel found senior receiver JR Drayton to put them within the 20 yard line, Where Ty Pindel found McGowan for the second time to make the score 14-0, going into the half.

The 2nd half was a defensive battle for both teams. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, junior Ryan McCabe grabbed a clutch interception, keeping Hopkinton off the scoreboard. To seal the game, senior linebacker Mike Zafiropoulos grabbed an interception of his own, adding to his dominant season on defense. Along with the interception, Mike Z had 9 tackles, including countless tackles for loss. Westwood’s defense was the X-factor in this game, completely shutting down Hopkinton's passing, and stifling their rushing. Westwood currently sits at 3-1 in the TVL and 4-4 overall, they’ll finish the season on Thanksgiving against long time rivals Holliston.