Westford Clinches Winning Record In Beantown Showdown

The October snow that originally cancelled 's trip to Boston was replaced by rain, mud, and plenty of offense.

Fortunately for the Grey Ghosts, their continuing tackling difficulties were mirrored by Boston Latin as Westford was able to take home a 47-27 win from White Stadium on Thursday night.

The offensive cascade began quickly on both sides of the ball as the Wolf Pack quarterback Cal Cahill to find David Hernandez down field for a score on their first play from scrimmage immediately followed by a Justin Mount kickoff return to even things up.

Mount's quick reply seemed like it would be enough to keep momentum on the Ghosts' side, but another strike from Cahill followed by an onside kick put Boston Latin neck and neck once again, where they would stay at halftime.

"Too many times this year we've let the floodgates open on us, and we can't do that," said Westford Academy head coach Rich McKenna. "We can't dwell on it, I think that's what happens. If you look at our whole season, it's been close, close, close...floodgates. If we can tighten that up and get into the fourth quarter, we usually do a good job."

It may now be too late in the season for the Grey Ghosts to qualify for the post-season, but if the second half was any indication, Westford was able finally able to get over the "floodgate" mentality.

By the end of the night, Mount and Alex Eaton would combine for another three touchdowns between the two of them, and what once had been a back and forth concluded as a rout.

"When we were starting off the second half, you're basically starting off as a tie," said Boston Latin head coach John McDonough. "We had a couple of opportunities in the second half, but we didn't convert early, and when you give the ball back to an offense that can score, you've got a problem."

Latin finishes its Dual County League season at 4-6, although the true measure of whether the Wolf Pack can consider their season successful will come from the Thanksgiving showdown against Boston English.

Granted, English was only able to score one more point all year than Latin's first half on Thursday night, and they've only beaten Latin twice in the past 44 Thanksgiving contests, but the Thanksgiving rivalry has transcended records since its beginning in 1887.

Meanwhile, as Lincoln-Sudbury moves foward into the Division 1A MIAA playoffs, Westford (6-4) will also be playing only for pride on Thanksgiving as they seek to take down their perennial foes Acton-Boxborough (6-4) at home in a 10 a.m. matchup.