In an early season game with a late season playoff feel, Westfield prevailed over South County 28-27 in overtime. With the exception of a few big plays for each team, the offenses for both were only moderately effective. The defenses for both teams were solid, if not exceptional at times, but the difference in this game was that WF's special teams were outstanding.
WF received the ball first and went three and out. SC started their first possession on their own 37 yard line and advanced to the WF 37, where they faced a 4th and 3. The short pass behind the LOS was successful, but the receiver slipped and failed to get the first down. WF took over on their own 41 yard line and again went three and out, but the punt pinned SC on the SC 12 yard line. SC was quickly forced to punt but the punt was blocked by WF's Schweiger and WF's Clancy scooped up the ball on the 1 yard line and scored. WF led, 7-0 (Steinhilber XP) with 2:58 to play in the first quarter. SC punted again on their next possession, with the WF special teams again applying pressure and forcing the punter out of the pocket to try a rugby style kick that only went to the SC 33 yard line where WF took over. After a 5 yard first down penalty, WF's Asante went 38 yards and extended the WF lead to 14-0 (Steinhilber XP) with 10:34 to play in the half. SC quickly countered with Tull connecting with Spaulding on an in-stride pass over the middle where Spalding outran the defense for a 77 yard TD, cutting the lead to 14-7 (Arquiette XP) at the 7:45 mark. WF ran several plays then punted on their next possession, giving SC the ball back on the SC 6 yard line. SC quickly moved to their 47 yard line but faced a 4th and one. Pearsall gained three yards to keep the drive alive with time running down, but the WF defense stiffened and, helped by some SC penalties, SC was held back and the half ended 14-7, WF.
SC opened the 2d half and went three and out, giving WF good position on their own 40 yard line. After several plays Kim hit Morin in stride on a long post pattern for a 40 yard passing TD and the lead stretched to 21-7 (Steinhilber XP) with 7:38 to play in the 3rd quarter. SC, starting on their own 25 yard line, took exactly 1:09 to score after Pearsall ran 68 yards to the WF 7, then several plays later Spalding took a direct snap and scored to cut the lead to 21-14 with 6:27 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Each team then had another 3 and out possession, before WF again faced a punting situation from their own 33 yard line. The WF punter, Steinhilber, faced a strong SC rush that forced a terrible kick and the ball squibbed to the WF 43 yard line where it was returned by SC to the WF 39. However, SC failed to take advantage of the good field position and faced a 4th and 4 at the WF 33 yard line. The SC run came up one yard short and WF took over on their own 30 yard line. WF had to punt after again failing to move the ball and the second WF punter on the night, Hildrup, got off a 65 yard punt that went into the end zone giving SC the ball on their 20 yard line. After a defensive PI call kept the SC drive alive, SC faced another 4th down attempt, this time 4th and 1 at the SC 44 yard line-Tull gained 4 yards to keep the drive going. On the next play Tull, under pressure and hit as he threw, got the football to Ball with a 45 yard pass play to the WF 7 yard line. Spalding then took the direct snap and ran the 7 yards to the end zone, but the play was nullified by a holding call and pushed SC back to the 17 yard line. After an incomplete pass and a 5 yard penalty, SC was now on the 22 yard line. Two plays later Tull hit Ball with a pass to the WF 2 yard line where SC faced a 4th and goal from the two, trailing 21-14. Spalding took another direct snap and scored, knotting the game 21 all with 5:18 to play. The next WF drive stalled again and when WF punted from their own 28 yard line, SC made what could have been a big mistake-the kick return man tried to field a bouncing ball in traffic and it bounced about 10 yards off his leg, with WF recovering at midfield with about 3 minutes to play. However, the SC defense stopped a short pass, got a big sack, and stopped a middle screen for little gain and WF was forced to punt again. The punt rolled to the SC 11 yard line with 56 seconds left but when SC took the field they elected to run several running plays and take the game to overtime.
In OT SC got the ball first. After a short 4 yard run, SC again lined up Spalding to take a direct snap. As everyone on the field moved to the offense's right, Spalding quickly stopped and threw back across the field to a wide open Dunn for the go ahead TD-except that SC was flagged for an ineligible receiver downfield, pushing SC back to the 11 yard line. After a Tull run to the 10 yard line, Tull lofted a pass to Spalding in the back left corner of the end zone where he out jumped double coverage and scored. SC led, 27-21, with the XP attempt to come. On the XP, WF's Morin flew in from the left side of the defense and blocked the XP attempt from Arquiette, keeping the score at 27-21 with WF now getting their chance on offense.
WF started their OT possession with a 9 yard run by Asante, followed by a 1 yard Kim QB keeper and the game was tied, 27-27. Hildrup came on the for the game winning XP and nailed it, giving WF an exciting win over a very tough SC squad.
Note: I edited in some name corrections this morning.
WF received the ball first and went three and out. SC started their first possession on their own 37 yard line and advanced to the WF 37, where they faced a 4th and 3. The short pass behind the LOS was successful, but the receiver slipped and failed to get the first down. WF took over on their own 41 yard line and again went three and out, but the punt pinned SC on the SC 12 yard line. SC was quickly forced to punt but the punt was blocked by WF's Schweiger and WF's Clancy scooped up the ball on the 1 yard line and scored. WF led, 7-0 (Steinhilber XP) with 2:58 to play in the first quarter. SC punted again on their next possession, with the WF special teams again applying pressure and forcing the punter out of the pocket to try a rugby style kick that only went to the SC 33 yard line where WF took over. After a 5 yard first down penalty, WF's Asante went 38 yards and extended the WF lead to 14-0 (Steinhilber XP) with 10:34 to play in the half. SC quickly countered with Tull connecting with Spaulding on an in-stride pass over the middle where Spalding outran the defense for a 77 yard TD, cutting the lead to 14-7 (Arquiette XP) at the 7:45 mark. WF ran several plays then punted on their next possession, giving SC the ball back on the SC 6 yard line. SC quickly moved to their 47 yard line but faced a 4th and one. Pearsall gained three yards to keep the drive alive with time running down, but the WF defense stiffened and, helped by some SC penalties, SC was held back and the half ended 14-7, WF.
SC opened the 2d half and went three and out, giving WF good position on their own 40 yard line. After several plays Kim hit Morin in stride on a long post pattern for a 40 yard passing TD and the lead stretched to 21-7 (Steinhilber XP) with 7:38 to play in the 3rd quarter. SC, starting on their own 25 yard line, took exactly 1:09 to score after Pearsall ran 68 yards to the WF 7, then several plays later Spalding took a direct snap and scored to cut the lead to 21-14 with 6:27 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Each team then had another 3 and out possession, before WF again faced a punting situation from their own 33 yard line. The WF punter, Steinhilber, faced a strong SC rush that forced a terrible kick and the ball squibbed to the WF 43 yard line where it was returned by SC to the WF 39. However, SC failed to take advantage of the good field position and faced a 4th and 4 at the WF 33 yard line. The SC run came up one yard short and WF took over on their own 30 yard line. WF had to punt after again failing to move the ball and the second WF punter on the night, Hildrup, got off a 65 yard punt that went into the end zone giving SC the ball on their 20 yard line. After a defensive PI call kept the SC drive alive, SC faced another 4th down attempt, this time 4th and 1 at the SC 44 yard line-Tull gained 4 yards to keep the drive going. On the next play Tull, under pressure and hit as he threw, got the football to Ball with a 45 yard pass play to the WF 7 yard line. Spalding then took the direct snap and ran the 7 yards to the end zone, but the play was nullified by a holding call and pushed SC back to the 17 yard line. After an incomplete pass and a 5 yard penalty, SC was now on the 22 yard line. Two plays later Tull hit Ball with a pass to the WF 2 yard line where SC faced a 4th and goal from the two, trailing 21-14. Spalding took another direct snap and scored, knotting the game 21 all with 5:18 to play. The next WF drive stalled again and when WF punted from their own 28 yard line, SC made what could have been a big mistake-the kick return man tried to field a bouncing ball in traffic and it bounced about 10 yards off his leg, with WF recovering at midfield with about 3 minutes to play. However, the SC defense stopped a short pass, got a big sack, and stopped a middle screen for little gain and WF was forced to punt again. The punt rolled to the SC 11 yard line with 56 seconds left but when SC took the field they elected to run several running plays and take the game to overtime.
In OT SC got the ball first. After a short 4 yard run, SC again lined up Spalding to take a direct snap. As everyone on the field moved to the offense's right, Spalding quickly stopped and threw back across the field to a wide open Dunn for the go ahead TD-except that SC was flagged for an ineligible receiver downfield, pushing SC back to the 11 yard line. After a Tull run to the 10 yard line, Tull lofted a pass to Spalding in the back left corner of the end zone where he out jumped double coverage and scored. SC led, 27-21, with the XP attempt to come. On the XP, WF's Morin flew in from the left side of the defense and blocked the XP attempt from Arquiette, keeping the score at 27-21 with WF now getting their chance on offense.
WF started their OT possession with a 9 yard run by Asante, followed by a 1 yard Kim QB keeper and the game was tied, 27-27. Hildrup came on the for the game winning XP and nailed it, giving WF an exciting win over a very tough SC squad.
Note: I edited in some name corrections this morning.
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