HOLDEN — After falling to Franklin High, the Wachusett Regional High School varsity football’s perennial nemesis, one week prior, the green and white took to the field Sept. 16 for a home matchup with Fitchburg High seeking their first victory in the early goings of the 2022 season.
It all played out perfectly for the Mountaineers, who put this one in the win column early, scoring 40 unanswered first half points while keeping the Red Raiders off the scoreboard due to inexorable play by the Wachusett defense. Wachusett (1-1) now moves forward with a Sept. 23 home matchup against Minnechaug Regional.
The game against Fitchburg was a team victory for sure, but one that highlighted senior quarterback Tucker McDonald’s skill and toughness in completing all 12 of his passes on the night for 189 yards and five touchdowns. The UConn-bound McDonald stayed in for the first half only, with the outcome sealed and the victory assured.
“It was a bounce-back week for us, but we have to put Fitchburg behind us and focus on this week, so it was good we got the win,” said McDonald, widely considered to be one of the top high school quarterbacks in New England. “All the hours that we’ve spent working out in the weight room, running routes, it’s all worth it to come out here with the Badlands (WRHS student cheering section) and the fans cheering. It’s just awesome.
“The receivers and I worked really hard in the offseason throwing routes. I also worked hard with some quarterback coaches. Coach Tommy Guy out in Springfield and Mike McCarthy are all well-known guys. They’ve really helped me to develop into the whole package.”
“This is a big thing for us coming off the loss a week ago,” said running back Aiden McGeary, who recorded a pair of sacks on defense. “We want to build momentum and carry that into week three. It’s hard work, but we love it. We love the whole group and all get along. To come out here on a Friday and get a big win feels good.”
Wachusett wasted no time getting on the board, executing a 10-play, 55 yard drive that resulted in an 8-yard touchdown to a leaping Grayson Baker. Ben Dominick’s PAT was successful putting the hosts up 7-0.
From there it was a virtual avalanche of touchdowns. Joe Cappabianca broke free of defenders and carried the ball 13 yards for the score, followed by McDonald’s TD pass for 14 yards to Frankie Smith that lifted Wachusett to a 20-0 first quarter advantage.
Cappabianca would notch his second score of the game early in the second quarter, a thing of beauty. McDonald rolled right on the snap and launched a perfectly placed pass into senior teammate Cappabianca’s arms in the corner of the end zone.
Next up would be Arturo Johnson, who broke free from Red Raider defenders and snagged a 67-yard TD pass to put Wachusett up 33-0. Cole Carelli finished off a 30-yard drive by finding the end zone from 2 yards out to put the Mountaineers up 40-0 at halftime.
“We have some athletes that make plays for me that make me look better and make the team look better,” said McDonald modestly.
“We talked a lot about looking ahead and not behind (after the Franklin loss),” said WRHS head coach Mike Dubzinski. “We’ve got to improve, and I said to the kids let’s just keep improving. Blocking, tackling, defense, offense — let’s improve every aspect of the game, and we did. We had good practices this week.”
“We were able to play a lot of kids tonight,” Dubzinski said, referring to his backups, who were on the field for the entire second half. “The players have tomorrow off. We’ll watch film on Sunday, and we’ll be back on the practice field Monday afternoon.”
