Westfield’s Cody Neidig, foreground, carries in the first quarter for the first touchdown for Westfield during Friday night’s game against visiting Longmeadow. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The Westfield High School football team silenced critics and put to rest a turbulent week with one fell swoop.
Westfield sophomore quarterback Austin St. Pierre threw for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns – both of which went to senior Cody Neidig, who also scored on a special teams play – and the Bombers pushed the unbeaten Longmeadow Lancers to the limit in a 47-26 loss Friday night at Bullens Field.
It was the coaching debut for Robert Parent, who stepped in as Westfield’s interim coach following head coach Rocco Fernandez’s stunning resignation last Sunday.
Longmeadow (5-0) opened the game with a textbook nine-play, 77-yard drive that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run from senior running back Conrad McCarthy with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter.
The lead was short-lived.
Westfield struck back on the ensuing kickoff as Neidig hauled in the kick from about the 21-yard line, slipped past a couple of Longmeadow players, bounced to the outside, and raced up the sideline untouched for the score.
Longmeadow responded.
Westfield’s Austin St. Pierre looks for his receiver during Friday night’s game against Longmeadow. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
On the following possession, Longmeadow chewed up some more clock with another long drive – 60 yards to be exact – and punched it in on a one-yard keeper from junior quarterback Scott Elder with 3:48 left in the first quarter.
Westfield responded soon thereafter.
After Longmeadow scored, Westfield marched the length of the field, moving the ball all the way from its own 35-yard line, and into the Longmeadow red zone before a dropped pass on a St. Pierre throw deflected off the hands of a Bomber and into the arms of a Lancer.
Westfield forced a punt on Longmeadow’s next drive, took over on its own 44, and drove 56 yards in six plays. The Bombers scored on St. Pierre’s beautiful 18-yard touchdown throw to Neidig with 6:57 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game 13-all.
Now it was Longmeadow’s turn.
The Lancers reclaimed the lead with 4:23 left in the half on a one-yard run from senior running back Noah Hurwitz. Hurwitz took the handoff, bounced outside and followed a steady stream of blockers into the end zone for a 19-13 lead. The extra point made it 20-13.
Westfield avoided a late Longmeadow score just before halftime when a 27-yard touchdown throw from senior quarterback Connor Ostrander to junior wide receiver Max Rye was called back on a holding penalty.
If anyone doubted whether Westfield could weather the storm of the Longmeadow Lancers, the first play from the line of scrimmage answered that question.
Following the second half kickoff, senior fullback Craig Ward took the handoff on the first play up the middle, shook off an initial tackle and eluded the grasp of a member of the Longmeadow secondary to rumbled 63 yards for a touchdown.
Westfield’s Nick Nihill, right, carries as Longmeadow’s Conrad McCarthy attempts the tackle during the second quarter of Friday night’s game at Bullens Field. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Longmeadow fought back with one of its trademark drives. The Lancers ate up chunks of yards and time before finally scoring on Hurwitz’s 12-yard touchdown run with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter to go ahead 27-20.
On Westfield’s next drive, St. Pierre connected on a spectacular 60-yard scoring strike with Neidig. Neidig hauled in the ball about 30 yards past the line of scrimmage, in stride, streaking past two defensive backs for the score with 5:37 on the clock.
Longmeadow quickly made it a two-touchdown game, scoring on a 10-yard run from junior running back Dominic Santaniello and – following the recovery of a gutsy onsides kick – a 43-yard touchdown run from Elder, who bounced outside the initial wave of defense and raced into the end zone.
Although the onside kick proved to be a game-changer, it did not slow Westfield’s spirits.
Westfield put together a long, time-consuming drive, churning out 55 yards in eight plays before being driven back for a 5-yard loss on second down, and coming up empty on third-and-long and fourth-and-long pass plays.
Longmeadow essentially ran out the rest of the fourth quarter clock with a 13-play, 86-yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard TD plunge from senior back Barry Keegan.
