WILMINGTON WILDCATS B TEAM WINS EASTERN MASS CHAMPS!

Wildcats reel off victories against Watertown and Lawrence to capture second consecutive Pop Warner Eastern Massachusetts Championships

LOWELL – It was an awesome week for the Wilmington Wildcats Pop Warner B Team as they rode into the playoffs on a seven game win streak, advanced to and captured their second consecutive Pop Warner Eastern Mass Championship by defeating Watertown last Wednesday and edging out Lawrence in the Eastern Mass Championship game on Sunday by a score of 22-15.  This win punctuates three years of dominant play by the Wildcats in the Middlesex League and Eastern Massachusetts Conference.  Over that time, the Wildcat B Team is 29-2 against all Eastern Mass opponents and Wilmington is an astounding 23-0 against Middlesex League competition over that time.  The team has played in the last three Eastern Mass Championship games, winning the last two back-to-back.  It is fitting that in the year they celebrate the fifty year anniversary of Wilmington Pop Warner, the Wildcats are fielding one of the most competitive teams in the programs history.  This is the first Wilmington Pop Warner team to play in three consecutive Eastern Mass Championship games (at the D level, C level and B level) and it is (to the best of my knowledge) the first team to win back-to-back championships at the C and B level.  Here are the game summaries of the Wilmington Wildcats B Team march to the Eastern Mass championship:

Eastern Mass Semi-Finals: Wilmington topples Watertown 20-8

The Wildcats took to the field last Wednesday for a rematch with a much improved Watertown squad and came away with a hard fought victory with a final score of 20-8.  Running back John Kenney led the Wildcats with 178 yards rushing to go along with two rushing touchdowns.  Kenney also managed to get the Wildcats on the board quickly by returning the opening kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown and a quick 6-0 lead for Wilmington.

After a quick stop by the Wildcat defense, the offense returned to the field and had a tough series of plays.  A fumble on first down and an incomplete pass on second down set up 3rd and long for the Wildcats.  Quarterback Andrew Sullivan hit slot receiver (and middle linebacker) Blake Hiltz on the pass but Hiltz hurt his knee when he collided with a Watertown defender and he had to leave the game.  This was a tough blow for Wilmington losing one of their offensive starters and their starting middle linebacker but both sides of the ball rallied to make up for the loss.

The Wildcats were forced to punt and put the defense on the field with a 6-0 lead but they certainly answered the call.  Linebackers Kyle Penney and Braden Hiltz, corner back Michael Ducharme and defensive tackle Frankie Irizarry tied for the team lead in tackles with five apiece.  Defensive end Andrew Sullivan contributed a sack to go along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery while nose tackle Pete Marino had four tackles-for-loss, contributing to his team lead of 23 tackles-for-loss on the season.

On their next drive the Wildcats had an eight play drive that accumulated 25 yards and ate up a few minutes of clock but they came away with no points.  The defense came on the field and again, dominated Watertown.  Joey Dumoulin (3.5 tackles) and Mikey Daley (2 tackles) both made key stops on the Watertown drive to give the ball back to the Wildcat offense.

On their third possession, the Wildcats brought in a new offense.  Timmy Rivers went to quarterback, John Kenney stayed in at running back, Braden Hiltz and Pete Marino went to fullback while the line consisted of Nick Kullman and Ben Stafford at guard, Kyle Bolis (filling in for the injured Colin Rooney) and Pat McAndrew at tackle, Ryan Brewer and Susarshan Swamy at tight end with Kyle Kenyon staying in at center.  After a nine yard run by Kenney, the Wildcats were stopped for no gain on second down and a fumble on third down turned the ball over to Watertown.  Watertown had their most productive drive of the game, marching almost 80 yards and scoring on a statue of liberty trick play from inside their red zone.  The PAT was good and Watertown took an 8-6 lead going into the half.

As good teams often do, the Wildcats rebounded in the second half and showed why they are 23-0 against Eastern Mass teams in the last three seasons.  A fumble (recovered by Wilmington) on the first play of the second half was the only negative yardage play of the second half.  With the same offensive line that ended the half and with Sullivan back in at quarterback, the Wildcats ripped off runs of 18 yards and six yards.  The Wildcats brought back their first offensive line, consisting of Mark Companeschi, Tommy Strow, Michael Steen and Owen Steen to go along with Ducharme, Daley and Drew Brandenburg at receiver and they steam rolled Watertown with a 12 play, 91 yard drive that culminated in a 50 yard touchdown run by Kenney.  This score put the Wildcats up 12-8 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Wildcat defense continued its dominance.  Cam Willis, Brett Chisholm and Michael Smolinsky were solid in the defensive tackle rotation.  Willis and Chisholm each had tackles and Aaron Soto was in on two tackles from his corner back spot.

While trying to add some cushion to their lead, the Wildcats lost fumbles on the next two possessions, but on their last possession of the game, the Wildcats added an insurance touchdown when they took over on the Watertown 20 yard line and scored in three plays.  John Kenney ran behind a wall of blocking from the Wildcat offensive line from eight yards out.  The PAT by Daley was good and it gave the Wildcats a 20-8 lead.  That would go on to be the final score of the game and while the Wildcats celebrated a little after the victory; they knew they had a big game coming up on Sunday for all the marbles.

Eastern Mass Championship Finals: Wilmington Edges Lawrence 22-15

In an epic showdown between the best of the Middlesex League and the best of the Merrimack Valley, the Wildcats overcame a 15-14 deficit late in the fourth quarter to edge the Lawrence Warriors 22-15 to secure their second straight Eastern Mass Championship.  The Wildcats were solid in all three phases of the game.  John Kenney scored on a kick return touchdown for the third straight game; the offense was balanced with 160 yards on the ground with a touchdown and 28 yards in the air to go along with a touchdown.  Defensively, the Wildcats held Lawrence to less than half of the 31 points their offense had averaged in the playoffs.

The Wildcats won the toss and elected to receive.  It was a magnificent opening drive for the Wildcats as John Kenney had two quick carries for 27 yards, quarterback Andrew Sullivan had one carry for eight yards and fullback Kyle Penney had three carries for 12 yards and the opening score of the game.  With the Lawrence defense shifting to stop the outside running of Kenney, the Wilmington offense shifted to an inside running attack with Penney punishing Lawrence defenders as he ran through them and over them.  The PAT was no good so Wilmington took a 6-0 lead.  The offensive line was dominant on the opening drive.  Led by Kyle Kenyon at center, Mark Companeschi and Michael Steen at guard and Owen Steen and Tommy Strow at tackle.  The Wildcats also received great perimeter blocking from receivers Michael Ducharme, Mikey Daley and Drew Brandenburg.

The Wildcat defense came out and stifled the Lawrence offense.  Cornerback Michael Ducharme (one tackle-for-loss and an interception), linebackers Braden Hiltz and Joey Dumoulin and defensive tackle Frankie Irizarry (one sack, one tackle-for-loss) led the Wildcats with 4.5 tackles apiece.  John Kenney also chipped in with an interception while Drew Brandenburg and Pete Marino had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Marino also had two big tackles-for-loss in the backfield.

Although the Wildcats scored easily on their opening drive, the offense was a bit rocky for the remainder of the half.  On that second possession, the Wildcats had a seven play drive that went deep into Lawrence territory but on 4th and four, quarterback Andrew Sullivan came up just a bit short on the QB sneak to turn the ball over to Lawrence.  On that next possession, Lawrence scored to make it 7-6 in their favor. 

At this point the Wildcats needed to make substitutions on offense, bringing in their second unit consisting of Timmy Rivers at quarterback, Braden Hiltz and Pete Marino at running back along with Kyle Penney, Kyle Kenyon stayed in at center while Nick Kullman, Ben Stafford, Kyle Bolis and Pat McAndrew came in at guard and tackle.  Sudarshan Swamy and Ryan Brewer came in at tight end to complete the offense.  Unfortunately the Wildcats fumbled on the first play and gave the ball back to Lawrence.  A great stop by the Wilmington defense gave the Wildcats the ball back and they were moving the ball effectively but ran out of time.  The score going into the half was 7-6 Lawrence.

The Wildcats quickly gained back the momentum in the second half when John Kenney returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.  This was Kenney’s third kickoff return touchdown in his last three games.  The PAT by Mikey Daley was good and Wilmington took a 14-7 lead over Lawrence.  Late in the third quarter, Lawrence scored on a long touchdown to take the lead 15-14 over Wilmington heading into the fourth quarter.  Even though they scored, the Wildcats still received solid defensive performances from linemen Brett Chisholm, Michael Smolinsky and Cam Willis, with Willis getting a huge tackle for the Wildcats.  The Wildcats needed to play their best football of the day in the fourth quarter and they certainly did.

The Wildcats came out and had a 12 play drive that went inside the Lawrence five yard line but a big hit on running back John Kenney knocked him out of the game and thrust Braden Hiltz into his spot.  This also meant losing Kenney on defense so the Wildcats went to a cover 2 defense with Hiltz and Timmy Rivers splitting the safety duties.  The Wildcats failed to score on the drive but the defense came back and held Lawrence.  Corner Aaron Soto also played defensive tackle and receiver for the Wildcats playing solid in all three spots. 

It was do or die for the Wildcats.  Late in the fourth quarter and trailing by a point, with the Eastern Mass Championship on the line and without their best offensive player, quarterback Andrew Sullivan stepped up threw a strike to Mikey Daley for a 28 yard touchdown that put the Wildcats back on top.  The PAT by Daley was good and this gave the Wildcats the 22-15 lead.  The defense was solid in stopping a desperate Lawrence team and as the clock hit triple zero’s, the Wildcats were getting ready to celebrate their second consecutive Eastern Mass Championship.

The Wildcats will take on North County in the Pop Warner State Championship game at Gardner High School on Sunday at 3:00 PM.