WESTBOROUGH – The Rangers work all summer so they can celebrate all autumn.
On a windy night at Joseph R. Mewhiney Field, the Westborough Rangers defeated the Marlborough Panthers 21-6 to officially become back-to-back Mid-Wach-B champions. The win – considerably less stressful than the Rangers’ double-overtime “W” over the Panthers last year – secures Westborough’s spot in the playoffs for the second straight year; the team has never appeared in consecutive playoffs before.
But while the Rangers became league champions on Nov. 1, the historic success is a function of all the work in July.
“They’ve worked hard. They’ve worked tremendously hard. It starts right here every July morning, 7 o’clock in the morning. Pushing tires, pushing sleds, lifting weights. Everybody else is at the beach, hanging out playing video games, or sleeping in. These guys are out and about, working their butts off,” Westborough Head Coach Joe Beveridge told the Community Advocate. “Hard work pays off.”
“It’s the hard work we do in the off-season,” said senior Brady Chapman. “The early mornings in the weight room, the speed work – everything like that. Down the stretch, it’s really paying off.”
Historic season, quick start
Westborough didn’t waste any time going after Marlborough. While Beveridge hoped that he’d win the toss and defer the ball, allowing his defense to set the tone and taking some pressure off his offense, the Panthers forced his hand, and Beveridge was ready to send his offense on the gridiron.
But that was before Chapman made his presence known. Chapman fielded the opening kickoff, sprinted 87 yards along the left hash, and hustled his way to the end zone to give his team an immediate lead. Chapman also had an interception later in the half, which led to a Thomas Cashman touchdown.
“[The kickoff return] is huge. We were hoping to defer, but they gave us the ball … I usually like to get the defense out there hitting right away … but Brady made a great play and got the crowd going. It got our juices going and it pulled us throughout the game there,” said Beveridge.
“It means everything. I was just trying to put on the best performance I could. It was for my guys – being able to do what I can do in any way possible,” said Chapman. “It feels really good becoming back-to-back league champs … It’s a really good feeling. I’m proud of my guys.”
While Marlborough eventually grabbed six points – a pass from halfback Noah Sowden to wideout Calvin McFarlane gave the Panthers a spark – Westborough’s defense didn’t break against Marlborough’s run-heavy offensive attack. A 10-minute, third-quarter drive produced zero points for the Panthers.
Senior Night success
The win also marked what might be the last home game for 16 Westborough seniors. After back-to-back 1-10 seasons to start their careers as Rangers, the seniors have now experienced back-to-back league championships. The team is captained by Sam Wickline, Andrew Pisciotta, Ivan Diaz, Thomas Cashman, and Jake Martin, who rushed for a touchdown against Marlborough.
“It was tremendous to get a win for them at home. There’s no guarantee we have another game here, and they mean a lot. This is a group that was playing here as freshman, going through 1-10 seasons as freshmen and sophomores. They decided they were not going to tolerate that anymore, and they led the way to where we are now. They are a tremendous group of players,” said Beveridge.
