WHS Football: Vikings rush past Wilmington, 34-14

In Thanksgiving game tuneup, Sacco, Dolen, Romano lead the way

By Cary Shuman

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, Wilmington had trouble containing Winthrop’s Big Three.

That’s a variation of boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s famous quote, but the latter part sums up Winthrop High’s 34-14 victory over Wilmington Thursday night at Miller Field.

The trio of Seth Sacco, Sean Dolen, and Nick Romano were the catalysts in an impressive victory over Wilmington, the No. 4 seeded team in the division who had defeated Middlesex League foe Stoneham (14-6) during the regular season.

Sacco had 11 carries for 146 yards and three touchdowns, one coming on a 43-yard connection from quarterback Charlie Ferrara, another on an 81-yard run.

Dolen rushed nine times for 144 yards and a touchdown including a 71-yard jaunt. Romano (8 carries for 50 yards, TD) was also a tri-star in the game’s proceedings on offense and was the Black Shirt Defensive Player of the Game with eight tackles, an interception, and a blocked punt.

“Our running game – Sacco and Dolen were tremendous, and Romano was very good,” said Winthrop head coach Jon Cadigan. “I felt we would be able to move the football on the ground, and we produced (340 yards).”

Wilmington scored two first-half touchdowns, but the Winthrop coaches made a couple of adjustments, “and after that we pretty much shut them down,” offered Cadigan.

Big play to start
the second half

Return man Sean Dolen struck again on special teams with a long return of the second half kickoff.

A pass play from Ferrara to Sacco immediately resulted in a 43-yard touchdown.

“We got a good return from Sean, and we called a pass play that we drew up at halftime and felt it would be there, and Seth took the pass for a touchdown to give us the lead.”

Dolen followed with a 71-yard touchdown run, and school was out as the saying goes.

Defense and special teams shine

In addition to Nick Romano’s team-best effort on ‘D,’ the other defensive standouts were  Seth Sacco (11 tackles, 7 solo, pass breakup), Sean Dolen (10 tackles, 6 solo, tackle for loss), Desmond Cassidy (9 tackles, 6 solo, tackle for loss, recovered fumble) and Michael D’Ambrosio (7 tackles, 3 solo, interception, pass breakup).

In special teams’ successes, Romano blocked a punt and there were two long kickoff returns. Domenic Spinale had two PATs, while Ferrara tossed a two-point conversion pass to Dolen.

On the punt block, Romano broke through the middle of the Wilmington line (the ‘A’ gap) and accomplished his goal.

Dom Farrell, who’s had a strong season as the Vikings’ punter, has not had to punt in the games versus Stoneham and Wilmington.

“Dom’s been very good for us when we’ve needed him,” credited Cadigan.

Pena centers the cause

Jeremy Pena moved over to center on offense as regular starter Roy Konopaska was on the sidelines.

“Jeremy moved from tackle to center and was excellent. Eddie Leal played left tackle in Jeremy’s spot.” Also drawing high grades were Chris Messina, Riley Moccio, Chris Beshere (‘A tremendous pancake block on the safety on Seth’s 81-yard touchdown’), and tight end Michael Ferrara (“a great game on defense as well and he played with a broken hand injury”).

The Grand Chase Is On

There will be additional drama to the Revere-Winthrop Thanksgiving game as Seth Sacco enters the fray with 881 yards, 119 yards away from one of football’s most sought-after milestones (although the NFL now plays 17 games).

The 1,000-yard milestone would be a fitting conclusion to Sacco’s career and make for a memorable day if the Vikings can defeat Revere, who has played its best football in the second half of the season, capped by a win over former state superpower Everett High School.

“Our No. 1 goal is to win the game,” said Coach Cadigan. “I think the good thing is that Seth is a huge part of the offense, so if we win the game, Seth probably has had a big game. It’s not necessarily our focus, but I do think you can incorporate individual goals into team goals.”