Westfield 31 Somerville 29  

October 7, 2023

Westfield jumped out to a 16-0 lead and held off Somerville for a 31-29 win, in a back-and-forth second half. The difference was while Somerville started scoring from the middle of the game on, Westfield was also able to score.  

I am doing this from the broadcast on YouTube by Morris Sussex Sports. 

First Quarter:  The quarter began with a series of punts until Westfield began a possession on the Somerville 36. On the first play, Maxwell Cho found Enzo Ferrero downfield for a 36-yard touchdown with 54 seconds left in the quarter. 

Second Quarter: The quarter began with another Somerville punt and Westfield began on the 50. Passes to Colin Coyle and Ferrero plus a run by Josh Caramagno set the Blue Devils up with a first-and-goal on the 3, which led to a 20-yard field goal by Colby Parmelee and a 9-0 lead. A fumbled snap on Somerville’s next punt set Westfield up with a first-and-goal on the 4. Three plays later, Cho sneaked in from the 1-yard line for a score and a 16-0 lead with five minutes left. Somerville began to move, scoring on an 8-yard pass from Brenden Pacheco to Joshua Rodriguez in the end zone. The two-point conversion pass to Rodriguez was good and it was 16-8 with one minute remaining. 

Third Quarter: Westfield came out with the ball and went right down the field and scored on a 6-yard run by Caramagno and Cho ran for two points to make it 24-8. The big play on the drive was a 47-yard pass to Ferrero. Westfield was faced with a fourth-and-2 on their 26 when they decided to go for it, but were stopped a yard short. Somerville took advantage and scored on a 5-yard run by Terrell Mitchell with another pass to Rodriguez for two points, making it 24-16. 

Fourth Quarter: Somerville came back on their following possession and with a 20-yard pass from Pacheco to Quinn Carran to the 26. The Pioneers lost yardage and were faced with a fourth-and-26 on the 42 when Pacheco completed a Hail Mary to Rodriguez on the 1-yard line for 41 yards. After a penalty, Pacheco ran for the touchdown past the right pylon. The two-point conversion failed and it was 24-22 with seven minutes left. Westfield methodically marched down the field and Cho scored his second touchdown from 11 yards out for a 31-22 lead with 2:18 left. Mitchell returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to the 5-yard line and scored on the following play to make it 31-29 with two minutes left. Westfield recovered the onside kick on the 31, picked up a first down, and ran out the clock. 

Comments:.Westfield got going after their first two drives that ended as punts. They had seven drives if one does not count short drives at the end of each half that ran out the clock – scoring on five. The defense did a good job early, holding Somerville without a first down until their last drive of the first half. That made a difference when it came to field position, as the Blue Devils started their drives with much better field position. They are 3-3 and have good players, with Cho having a good game, completing 10-of-15 for 153 yards and one touchdown. Caramagno rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. 

Somerville did not go away, kept at it, and almost won the game. It is almost the tale of two halves, except they scored at the end of the first half, 29 points in one half and five minutes. But they did not produce a first down in the first 19 minutes of the game and that contributed to them coming up short. Individually, Rodriguez caught five for 71 yards and a touchdown, including a couple of outstanding catches.