WINCHESTER – Led by a blistering speeding assault, Winchester made an emphatic early-season assertion on Friday evening.
The Crimson and Black stomped their well past beforehand undefeated Masconomet, storming to a 56-22 victory at Knowlton Stadium.
Taking part in a mode of soccer that was equal elements bodily and explosive, Winchester (3-0) capitalized on almost each Masco mistake. Regardless of having three new starters on the offensive line, Winchester dictated the tempo, which led to a dominating efficiency from senior captain Gianni DePrimeo, who ran for 5 touchdowns.
“My linemen have been improbable,” mentioned DePrimeo (16 carries, 290 yards, 5 TDs). “Our receivers have been blocking, too. It takes a workforce, and everybody was dialed in.”
Masco quarterback Drew Gustafson (18-30, 196 yards, two TDs, INT) led the Chieftains down the sector on the opening drive, however Winchester pressured a fumble proper earlier than the tip zone. A two-and-a-half-minute drive resulted in factors for Winchester, who took an early lead following a 23-yard run from Nicky Rotondi.
Two minutes later, Masco evened the rating, 7-7, courtesy of a 55-yard sprint from Jack Fabiano (16 carries, 101 yards). However the sport rapidly shifted in Winchester’s favor with consecutive scoring drives, which have been each the results of landing runs from DePrimeo.
Gustafson hit Cal Weidman ultimately zone to cap off a 51-yard drive within the second quarter, permitting Masco to slender the deficit to 21-15. However it might get no nearer, with DePrimeo working wild for one more landing to increase the result in 28-15 on the half.
DePrimeo then made sure that the result was by no means unsure. He opened the second half with an 80-yard dash, giving Winchester a commanding 35-15 lead.
The mix of DePrimeo and Rotondi merely overpowered Masco (3-1), and that duo is certain to trigger nightmares for opposing strains all season.
“For me, it begins with having Gianni as a task mannequin,” mentioned Rotondi (seven carries, 79 yards, two TDs). “Having Coach (Will) O’Connor as a working backs coach, he motivates me day by day. And our line was unbelievable. These guys are all my pals. I do know what they’re able to, they usually’re all canines.”
Winchester’s protection was led by senior Chris Russo. It was a gritty exhibiting on either side of the ball, and Russo credited that to a profitable week of apply.
“We labored our butts off for this win,” mentioned Russo. “We rallied to the ball, we performed onerous, we performed quick, and all eleven of us flew to the ball each play. It’s a brotherhood, and each play, we’re doing it for the man subsequent to us.”
Winchester coach Wally Dembowski was thrilled along with his workforce’s victory. A veteran of 15 years in Winchester, he was additionally fast to notice that his workforce might want to hold working in an effort to meet their heightened expectations.
“This group has been by way of lots of battles, and we’re on the level now the place groups are taking a look at us,” mentioned Dembowski, whose workforce travels to Wakefield subsequent week. “Meaning we have now to work even tougher if we wish to be the perfect within the state.
“Masco could be very proficient, so we would have liked to be robust. We dealt with that problem rather well right here, and now we’ll concentrate on enhancing for subsequent week.”
After cruising to 3 wins of their first three video games, the result left Masco dejected. Masco coach Pat Sheehan believes this is usually a probability for his group to be resilient as they now put together for his or her residence opener in opposition to Peabody.
“We weren’t able to play, and that’s on me,” mentioned Sheehan. “We made method too many errors, and Winchester made us pay each single time. That’s a extremely robust, well-coached workforce. We have to get again to work to be the workforce we wish to be.”
Coming into the season with excessive hopes, Winchester is now dwelling out their dream. For DePrimeo, that’s precisely what he wished for his senior yr.
“This isn’t a non-public faculty, it’s a bunch of men which were taking part in collectively since we have been children,” mentioned DePrimeo. “We love that. And it doesn’t matter to us who will get ultimately zone. We don’t care. We simply wish to go on the market and compete. That is all the things to us.”
