HOLDEN – Simply call it araskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) or any cogent reason imaginable for letting a 25-7 lead slip away. That’s what the football gods had in store for the Wachusett Regional High varsity football team when they squared off with visiting Leominster High last Friday. The Mountaineers (2-4) fell to the Blue Devils, 38-32, despite some last minute heroics that were simply too little, too late to avoid a mountain-size heartbreaker.
The night opened up auspiciously with a pair of first quarter touchdowns for Wachusett. Ben Domineck hauled in a 12-yard toss from QB Dillon Harper for a touchdown and was followed minutes later with 6 more on the board when WR/CB Cam McGravey took home an 18-yard toss from Harper to put the Mountaineers up, 13-0, at the end of one.
Late in the first half, WR/LB Ethan Blomquist appeared to have put things away for Wachusett when he connected with Harper for a 31-yard touchdown strike. Seconds later, he followed that up with a 19-yard interception to run up the score to 25-7 at the break. But just when the curtain appeared to close on the opening 24 minutes of play, Leominster struck for a 40-yard TD run to close the gap and light a spark for the Blue Devils.
In the second half, it was all Leominster who went to work with surgical precision, putting four touchdowns on the board. The resulting scoring put the green and white down for the count, looking up, as it wasn’t to be despite a late game effort that resulted in a 62-yard touchdown catch by McGravey. Wachusett had possession of the ball in the waning minutes, but Leominster’s defense kept the green and white off the board.
Wachusett next hosts perennial rival Algonquin Regional on Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. Look for a bounce- back and a hard week of practice under the guidance of head coach Mike Dubzinski.
“They got two scores at the end of the second half,” said WR/DE Grayson Baker postgame. “We answered with one, and we were trying to get that second. We just couldn’t get it. We have to go hard this week in practice, give it 100%, watch film on the other team and do the best we can.”
“We have to have a good week in practice, stay focused,” echoed teammate WR/LB Joe Raeke. “We have four hard working days in front of us, and we have to stay locked in all week. We might have a little damage to our confidence, but we can bounce back from this. I know we can.”
“In the second half we came out a little bit flat,” added Domineck. “We’re going to get back in practice this week and work hard. We always do, and we’ll be back next week. ‘Gonk’s’ (Algonquin Regional nickname) always a good team. They have good offense and defense. We’re going to prepare for them the best we can. We’ll have a good week in practice, and we’ll be back next week.”
Members of the 2023 Wachusett Regional High varsity football team include seniors Mitchell Donkor, Ben Domineck, Dillon Harper, Grayson Baker, Stone Lane, Ethan Blomquist, Brian Pupecki, Chris Smith, Brady Westerlind, Mahkye Anthony, Blaise Zsidisin, Sam Kostantin, Logan Quirk and Matthew Vigeant.
