WILMINGTON WILDCATS Pop Warner A TEAM OPEN SEASON WITH A 20-8 VICTORY OVER WOBURN

2014 team captains, left to right: Peter Marino (#42), Kyle Kenyon (#77), Joseph Dumoulin (#23), Frankie Irizarry (#18), Andrew Sullivan (#7)

WILMINGTON – One of the most successful groups of players in the history of Wilmington Pop Warner began their final season on Sunday against rival Woburn. Eleven players from last year’s Eastern Mass Pop Warner B Team Champions, along with thirteen new teammates, tried to pick up where they had been before: against a rival and in a Middlesex League game. Dating back to 2011 when the core of this group was playing at the Pop Warner D level, these players began an unprecedented streak of dominance against Middlesex League teams. Since 2011, this team was 22-0 against the Middlesex League. A win against Woburn on Sunday would have been win number 23.

The Wildcats overcame an 8-0 halftime deficit by scoring 20 unanswered points in the second half to topple rival Woburn 20-8. Middlesex League win number 23 was in the books.

Before the game, Head Coach Gerry Sullivan named the five captains for the 2014 season; Andrew Sullivan, Frankie Irizarry, Joseph Dumoulin, Peter Marino and Kyle Kenyon. Those five players, along with many of their teammates, were a big reason the Wildcats were able to open the 2014 season with a victory. Running back / Linebacker Pete Marino was out for the game with a high ankle sprain but he should be set to begin his 2014 campaign this week. Dumoulin had 11 carries for 117 yards and three touchdowns while Sullivan contributed 27 yards rushing and passing to the offense. On defense, Irizarry had five tackles and two sacks while Kenyon had five tackles and two tackles-for-loss. Another significant contribution to the defense came from Nose Tackle Owen Steen who had four sacks on the day.

The Wildcats lost the coin toss and when Woburn deferred to the second half, Wilmington took the ball. The Wildcat offense looked sluggish on the first drive going three and out before Adam Bishop came in to punt on fourth down.

The Wildcat defense looked solid for most of the first half. The run defense held Woburn to negative yards on the day thanks to outstanding play from Chris Medeiros (3.5 tackles), Jake Timmons (2 tackles) and Michael Steen (1.5 tackles) on the defensive line. The defensive line had an outstanding 21.5 tackles on the day.

The next time out on offense, the Wildcats went with a different group. Sean Kelley (four carries, 16 yards) came in at quarterback along with Randall Vega (four carries, 14 yards), Kyle Munro and Bailey Smith in the backfield. The offensive line consisted of Chris Stokes and Jason Marquard at Tight End, Omar Eldaly and Michael Smolinsky at Tackle, Max Caso and Ben Stafford at Guard and Will Ameral at Center. This group fought hard for tough yards but a fumble (recovered) and a false start penalty negated the first drive and the groups second drive took the team right to the last two minutes of the first half before turning the ball over to Woburn. On that drive, deep in Wildcat territory, Woburn scored and converted the subsequent extra point (PAT) to go up 8-0. With only second remaining on the clock, the Wildcats were able to run two plays with quarterback Sean Kelley gaining 10 yards in two carries but the clock ran out with the Wildcats down 8-0 at the half.

It was a different story for the Wildcats in the second half. With only 35 yards of total offense in the first half and no scores, Wilmington gained 141 yards of offense in the second half, including 128 yards rushing to go along with three scores. The Wildcats scored quick taking only two plays for Dumoulin to add fifty yards to his rushing total and get Wilmington on the board. The Wildcats missed the PAT so they were still down 8-6 early in the second half.
The defense continued to step up in the second half. Getting nowhere on the ground, Woburn tried to air it out a bit more in the second half but corner back Devin Clerico came up big with four tackles while blanketing Woburn’s biggest receiver. Colin Rooney was also solid at the linebacker spot, along with Dumoulin and Kenyon.

After failing to score on their second possession of the second half, the Wildcats third possession was a bit more fruitful. It was a six play drive that began with a 13 yard completion from Sullivan to Irizarry, included back to back runs by Sullivan and culminated with a 19 yard touchdown run by Dumoulin right into the heart of the Woburn defense. Key blocks by wide receiver Nick Kullman, tight end Bishop and fullback Munro helped Dumoulin find the endzone for his second score. Bishop’s PAT was good and the Wildcats took a 14-8 lead against a stunned and dejected Woburn squad.

On their final possession, Wilmington scored an insurance touchdown when Dumoulin took the handoff and galloped 16 yards to the endzone for his third touchdown of the day. In all, it was a great team effort by the Wildcats A Team.