Westfield’s Ben Geschwind, right, attempts to take down a Cathedral ball carrier during yesterday’s Thanksgiving Day game at Springfield College. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SPRINGFIELD – Some 15 seniors and their fellow Bomber teammates delivered an early holiday gift to their outgoing head football coach.
Westfield senior backs Rashaun Rivers and Ben Geschwind combined for four touchdowns and more than 300 rushing yards, and Bombers’ head coach Bill Moore was rewarded with a resounding 52-22 win over Cathedral in the annual Thanksgiving Day classic Thursday at Springfield College.
Rivers finished with 159 yards on 10 carries. Geschwind rushed eight times for 157 yards. Both were named co-MVPs on offense.
Senior halfback Zach Kuzon scored three times for the Bombers.
“We needed to come out and prove ourselves like we’ve always done, to play as hard as we can,” said Geschwind, whose team’s only losses of the season came against Central, twice. “This is coach Moore’s last season. We wanted it to end on a high note.”
“The pain train rolled today.”
It was a typical grind-it-out opening drive for Westfield.
Westfield forced a three-and-out to open the game, allowing just four yards on Cathedral’s first three plays from the line of scrimmage. The Bombers, on offense, needed just five plays to chew up 51 yards.
Westfield ball carrier Rashaun Rivers, center in air, misses the dive tackle of a Cathedral player during yesterday’s game at Springfield College. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
With runs from Rivers and Geschwind, a 10-yard touchdown run from senior Zach Kuzon, and a 2-point run from Geschwind, Westfield enjoyed the early 8-0 lead.
Stout defense and a punishing ground game continued to be the theme of the day.
On Cathedral’s next series, Westfield held the Panthers to just one rushing yard and two incomplete passes. After the punt, Rivers, on the Bombers’ first play, raced 50 yards for a touchdown. Kuzon plunged into the end zone for a two-point conversion.
It was more of the same in the second quarter.
Westfield scored on each of its next three possessions. Kuzon rambled 16 yards for a touchdown (A Geschwind 2-point run followed). Geschwind ripped off a 13-yard TD. (Senior quarterback Jake Toomey completed a 2-point pass to senior tight end Garrett Fitzgerald). And, finally Rivers took a handoff 68 yards to the end zone for a commanding 38-0 lead.
It was a highly productive first half for Westfield.
Westfield limited Cathedral to just 8 yards of total offense (7 yards rushing, 1 passing) through the first two quarters. Offensively, Rivers and Geschwind were each well on their way to reaching the 1,000-yard mark on the season.
Early in the third quarter, it was – game over.
Westfield opened the second half with a time-consuming, 8-play, 58-yard drive that resulted in a 44-0 lead. A two-point run from Cody Neidig made it 46-0.
Geschwind added a 66-yard TD run on the Bombers’ next drive.
With the starters sidelined, Cathedral scored 22 unanswered points to close out the game – a 19-yard TD run and subsequent 22-yard fumble return for touchdown from sophomore running back Tim Patterson, and an 18-yard score from Nathan Johnson.
Patterson (5 carries, 37 yards rushing) was named the team’s offensive player of the game. Senior defensive back Dominic Marconi collected defensive honors.
Westfield senior linebacker Noah Swords was the team’s defensive Player of the Game.
“It’s been an emotional couple of days,” said coach Moore, noting numerous visits from alums. “This was special. I just tried to enjoy it … We took care of business today. That’s what matters.”
