Westfield sophomore quarterback Matt Adamites (5) fires off a pass under pressure against Longmeadow Friday at Bullens Field. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
WESTFIELD – It was a game for the ages, and one that featured a fairy tale ending.
The Westfield High School football team blew a two-touchdown lead, but held off Longmeadow in a double overtime thriller, 46-40, late Friday at Bullens Field.
Westfield sophomore quarterback Matt Adamites paved the way for a victory, scoring six touchdowns. He completed 14-of-18 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns, and carried the ball nine times for 129 yards and two scores.
“Every time on offense, our sideline and our fans, especially at the end of the game just fueled us,” Adamites said. “The electricity the whole night just fueled us.”
Adamites tossed the game-winning touchdown, a 12-yarder to senior wide receiver Mason Collingwood for the game-winner in the second overtime frame. Adamites caught the ball just just a few yards past the line of scrimmage on a hitch play, spun away from the Longmeadow cornerback and sprang free to the end zone.
Players and fans stormed the field in celebration.
“I hit (the CB) with (a hitch) short because I knew he was going to play me deep,” Collingwood said. “I knew he was coming to my outside. I peeked over and then I just went around and got past.”
Collingwood was not the only wideout to enjoy some heroics.
Westfield senior wide receiver C.J. Flores-Skribiski put together a career game. Flores-Skribiski had nine receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
“Our line was giving our quarterback tons of time so he could just find the open receiver,” a modest Flores-Skribiski said. “That’s all it was. We all came together.”
Westfield (4-2) entered Friday’s game, having suffered a 35-14 loss to Chicopee Comp a week earlier. The Bombers put that nightmarish outing to rest quickly though with an extremely effective opening drive against Longmeadow.
Westfield started with the ball on their own 35-yard line and drove 65 yards in 11 plays. It was all capped off with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Adamites to Collingwood with 8:27 remaining in the opening quarter.
Longmeadow responded with a scoring play of their own, thanks in large part to a 45-yard run from sophomore running back Luke Szyluk. The Lancers moved the ball all the way to the 13-yard line before stalling out. They turned to their kicker, Ryan Hornyiak, who converted a 30-yard field goal with 2:57 on the first-quarter clock to cut the Westfield lead in half, 6-3.
Westfield countered with a quick two-play drive, the second play of which went for 77 yards when Adamites tossed a long touchdown pass to Flores-Skribiski. The score came with 2:04 left in the quarter and resulted in a 12-3 Bombers lead.
One possession later, Westfield struck again with the Adamites-to-Flores-Skribiski connection. Flores-Skribiski plucked the ball from Adamites out of the air in between two defensive players in the secondary and crossed the goal line for a 36-yard touchdown to make it 18-3 eight seconds into the second quarter.
After a failed drive by both teams, Longmeadow put together a 12-play, 61-yard drive that culminated with a 7-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Colin Hoffman. The score came with 2:58 to go in the half.
The third quarter featured just one score, a 70-yard touchdown run by Adamites with 48 seconds remaining. Westfield led 24-9.
The fourth quarter featured very little offense, at least until the final five minutes when the two teams exploded for a combined four touchdowns. Longmeadow accounted for three of those scores.
Longmeadow pulled within one score of a tie when Szyluk rushed 22 yards for a a touchdown with five minutes remaining in regulation. The extra point made it 24-16.
On the very next possession, Longmeadow recovered an onside kick. Four plays later, Hoffman scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 3:13 remaining. A 2-point run from Hoffman tied the game at 24-all.
The scoring plays continued at a record pace.
Four plays into Westfield’s next drive, Adamites shot through the middle of the Longmeadow defense and raced into the end zone on a 42-yard TD run to help the Bombers reclaim the lead with 1:21 left. Adamites tacked on a 2-point run to give the Bombers a 32-24 advantage.
Still, it was not over.
In the final half-minute of the fourth quarter, Hoffman connected with senior running back Nate Hunter on a 33-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. A successful two-point run from Maurice Powe tied the game 32-32.
Nearly an inconceivable thought at one time during the game, both teams were now headed to overtime.
Westfield scored on its first possession of OT, a touchdown run from senior running back Nick Clauson. A successful 2-point conversion gave the Bombers a 40-32 lead.
Longmeadow matched Westfield with a score of its own. Powe scampered across the goal line on a TD run.
In double overtime, Westfield sophomore defensive tackle Jacob Fernandez forced a fumble. The Bombers recovered the key turnover.
That would be the final turning point in a game that packed in more twists in the final minutes than an entire M. Night Shyamalan film.
Westfield won it on third down as Adamites hit Collingwood for the game-winning touchdown.
“You have to give Longmeadow credit,” said Westfield football head coach Rob Parent, who admitted never having coached or played in an overtime game. “They never gave up, they continued to battle, they continued to fight, they made play after play. I’m just really happy that at the end of the day our guys made the last play. We made the play that won the game.”
GYMNASTICS
Westfield 133.6, Hampshire 129.925, Agawam 121.275
Westfield’s Kayla Johnson finished runner-up in the all-around competition with a 33.375. Johnson tied for second (8.35) on the balance beam with teammate Claire Smith, who also placed first on the uneven bars (8.7). Bombers’ Kelly Burns and Katie Daniels tied for first on the vault with an 8.4.
Westfield improved to 8-2.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Westfield def. Frontier 30-28, 25-18, 25-22
Brigid Moriarty (10 assists), Yanaira Henry (10 digs, 5 aces), Viktoria Pavlyuk (12 kills, 2 aces), Iris Rodriguez (9 kills, 5 digs), Maia Kelso (4 kills, 2 blocks), Emily Gelinas (2 kills, 16 assists, 1 ace), and Emma Petzold (3 kills, 4 blocks) fueled Westfield’s latest victory. The Bombers improved to 13-4 overall, 8-0 Western League.
Thurs., Oct. 17
GOLF
Westfield 104, West Springfield 116
Westfield (12-1) closed the season on a high-note, winning a weather-shortened, six-hole match against West Springfield. David Tirrell, Brian Daley, Andrew Florek, Anthony Schabowski, and Colin Scanlon played well for the Bombers.
Next up for Westfield: the Western Massachusetts Division 1 golf championships at Southampton Country Club. Tee time is 10 a.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Southwick 3, Holyoke 1
Nick Brown scored two goals, and Paul Whalley had one as Southwick built a 3-0 first-half lead, and never relented.
Zach Karetka, Paul Whalley and Mason Imbriglio each had an assist for the Rams.
Southwick goalie Ryan Molta made five saves.
Westfield Technical Academy 7, Commerce 0
Adam Strycharz recorded a hat trick, Livingston Ndyia scored two goals, and David Bulatov and Vlad Cheremis had one apiece for Westfield Technical Academy. Tigers’ Bodhi Hall collected three assists, and John Vella had two.
St. Mary’s 9, Duggan Academy 1
Brady Collins recorded a hat trick, Jack Lamirande and Jack Masciadrelli each scored two goals, and Joe Lucardi and Everett Stec finished with one apiece as St. Mary’s routed Duggan Academy. Saints’ Joe Lucardi had four assists, while Seamus Smith, Colin Ramos and Brady Colins each had an assist.
St. Mary’s also received a solid effort from the bench with Evan Durkee, Seamus Smith and Chad Hockenberry
St. Mary’s goalie Hayden Lussier made six saves.
“Everything clicked today,” St. Mary’s coach Andy Lussier said. “This team came into its own this afternoon. Everything we’ve been working on has started to be the norm. We’re excited about this transition going into our last few games.”
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Southwick def. Franklin Tech 17-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23
Kaitlyn Haseltine (5 aces, 4 digs, 6 kills, 10 assists), Emily Buchter (9 digs), Victoria Burkovskiy (8 kills, 1 block), Kayla Andrade (4 kills, 16 assists), and Sarah Cerone (2 blocks) led Southwick to a thrilling victory.
