WESTFIELD – The Longmeadow High School football team rushed for touchdowns, passed for another, and ran one in on special teams in a 32-18 rout of Westfield Friday night at Bullens Field.
Longmeadow opened the scoring with a quick frenzy as senior running back Austin Sierra ripped off runs of 43 and 33 yards, the second which went for a touchdown, on the Lancers’ first two plays after a Westfield 3-and-out to start the game. The score came at 9:17. The Bombers blocked the extra point.
Westfield stalled on its next drive and punted the ball to the Longmeadow 21. This time the Lancers needed just one play, a Connor Ostrander to Dylan Talbot 72-yard touchdown pass to make it 12-0 with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter.
Westfield’s third series proved to be the charm.
Bombers’ junior quarterback Jake Toomey opened the 9-play series with a 24-yard run. Junior fullback Ben Geschwind finished off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run, bouncing outside and bulldozing his way into the endzone with 24.3 seconds on the clock. The extra point failed.
Longmeadow responded with a long series of its own.
Starting from its own 30, the Lancers moved the ball 70 yards in 11 plays. Junior running back Max Chipouras punched it in from 27 yards out to help his team reclaim a two touchdown lead with 7:21 left in the first half. With a two-point conversion, the score was 20-6.
In the second half, Longmeadow, on its second series, drove 87 yards on 11 plays. Senior running back Frankie Elder capped it off with a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Lancers a 26-6 lead.
Westfield sophomore Cody Neidig, who is quickly becoming a special teams force, returned a blocked extra point all the way to the Longmeadow 20-yard line before being dragged down. Neidig kicked a game-winning field goal the previous week to help the Bombers stun Minnechaug.
Longmeadow felt a bit “special” too after forcing a three-and-out for Westfield. Elder returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown and a 32-6 lead with 1:04 remaining in the third quarter.
Westfield put together a nice response – adding two touchdowns late (one from Geschwind on a rushing attempt; another on a pass from Toomey to Ryan Bucko.
At halftime, the Westfield High School marching band, dressed in Halloween garb, delivered a brilliant show.
