HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: West Bridgewater was Bourne to go places this fall
Jason Snow
BOURNE - The West Bridgewater High football team didn’t waste any time shifting itself into top gear Thursday night.
The Wildcats cruised past Bourne, 49-0 on the road, to pull themselves above the .500 mark. With the loss, the Canalmen sink to 0-3 on the season.
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After deferring the game’s opening possession, the West Bridgewater defense induced a quick Bourne three-and-out and around the 10-minute mark of the first quarter, the offense took over. To be more specific, the run game took over.
On the first play of the Wildcats’ introductory drive, senior Joey LeClerc plunged a 42-yard touchdown run into the end zone, and with a successful extra point kick by sophomore Luke Destrampe, who ended up booting all seven of his extra-attempts successfully between the uprights, West Bridgewater pulled ahead 7-0 early in the first.
By tacking on two more rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, one courtesy of senior DJ Amaya at the 6:49 mark and the other from junior Will DeLuca with just 23 seconds left in the frame, West Bridgewater found itself up three scores with three quarters left to keep Bourne at bay.
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“As long as the line blocks well and opens up the holes, we’ve got good backs and they can do the job,” said senior quarterback Nathan Razza of the running game.
The Wildcats finished the game scoring six offensive touchdowns coming from five different rushers. Amaya scored a pair to join DeLuca and LeClerc in the first half, while senior Devon Hensley and sophomore Nate Frechette, who was a late substitution in the backfield, found the end zone in the second half. Frechette’s score was the first of his varsity career.
Junior linebacker Nate Anderson snagged an interception in the second quarter and returned it for a score to represent the defense in the scorebook.
“I was proud that we came out and we played hard from start to finish,” said West Bridgewater coach Justin Kogler. “That’s what I asked of them tonight and they did it.”
“Starting with the offense, we have a really good run game going on right now,” said DeLuca. “I think the option (plays) are working great. Our passing game is awesome, Razza’s killing it at quarterback, we’ve got great receivers. Just all-around, we’re strong.”
“And then on defense,” DeLuca continued, “we have great linebackers, a great line, our secondary is second to none. Everyone’s really coming to the ball, and we’re killing it right now.”
“It was good in the sense that we all got to play,” Kogler added. “We got everybody out there. We played pretty good, but I think a real confidence booster would be a win next week (against Nantucket).”
Which is where the Wildcats focus turns next.
Kogler will now prepare for a team that West Bridgewater has defeated just twice since 2010, with the most recent triumph coming last year by a 16-6 score. Nantucket hosts the Wildcats next Saturday (Oct. 2) at 2 p.m.
“Mostly, it’s going to be how we play as a team,” said Razza, who dropped back to pass just one time against Bourne. “We have to work on our offense a little bit, carrying the ball, securing it, but other than that, if we focus on the game and know where we're supposed to be on the field, we’ll do good.”
“I think with the Nantucket game,” DeLuca said, “we started off a little weak (against East Bridgewater), and the Fairhaven (overtime win) really gave us that momentum. And tonight really solidified that, so I think we’ve got to go into Nantucket - just, they’re a great football team, a good rival. I think we’ve just got to go in swinging and play our football.”
“We’ve got tons of depth, we’ve got skill all-around,” DeLuca assessed the team, “and I think we’re going to go places this year.”