Photo by Owen Ziegler
Wide receiver Charlie Jessup sprawls out for a catch
By Owen Ziegler
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
The Westwood Wolverines football team faced off against the Norwood Mustangs in an absurd blowout, the Wolverines winning 50-7, on Friday October 10th. On Westwood's official breast cancer awareness game, dawning hot pink accessories, they came into the game with the record 1-3, not great overall, but a clean slate for the Tri-Valley League. Trying to repeat last year, Westwood’s win brings them to 1-0, hopeful to finish with the Tri Valley league title, which they earned last year on Thanksgiving.
Such a lopsided score was thanks to Westwood's extreme offensive output, which even the best of the best high school teams would take notes from. The unanimous MVP of the game was captain Charlie Jessup. At wide receiver and cornerback, Charlie finished with two receiving touchdowns, as well as two interceptions, one which was returned for his third touchdown, and on top of all that, two fumble recoveries, finally tallying almost 100 yards of scrimmage, all on his 18th birthday. It was clear that the Wolverines needed him, as Jessup was injured for the past two weeks. Asked on how he gets his mind right, despite being injured, he said “I just love this game, I love football, getting back was the only thing on my mind, and there was nothing stopping me.” Along with his return, we saw the appearance of senior WR/DB JR Drayton, who put up his own monster game.
In the 1st quarter, Westwood put up 29 points, more than Norwood's last three games combined. After two Jessup touchdowns, and a successful fake extra point the score was 15-0, only five minutes into the game. At this point, Norwood's comeback chances were already crushed, especially after 2 fumbles and an interception. The Wolverines finished the quarter with a passing touchdown to Keilen McDonald, and a rushing to Brenden Cengic, making the score 29-0.
Into the 2nd quarter, Westwood's defense, led by edge rusher Will Sesselman, who had 2 sacks on the game, were able to force a punt, which turned into McDonald's second touchdown on the day. Right before the end of the half, Jessup tacked on his third and final touchdown, which Norwood responded with a touchdown of their own, making the score 43-7 going into the 2nd half.
The 2nd half had nowhere near the same scoring output as the 1st, but senior captain Narawut Kam added the final touchdown of the game, along with 110 rushing yards, to end the score at 50-7. The final quarter displayed the Wolverines JV squad, ready to show their readiness, held Norwood to zero points scored for the entire rest of the game. Next week, Westwood faces off against the 2-3 Dedham Marauders, who recently suffered a 43-0 loss to Ashland.
