Westfield football remains undefeated with win over Immaculata
WESTFIELD — The Westfield High School football team continued its winning ways Saturday as the Blue Devils extended their state-best winning streak to 20 games and improved to 7-0 by beating Immaculata 35-13.
Even though Westfield clinched the Mid-State 38 Watchung Division title last week in its close win over Elizabeth, the Union County powerhouse came out firing even under tough weather conditions on Saturday.
MORE: MID-STATE 38 FOOTBALL ROUNDUP FOR OCT. 22
RELATED: WEEK 7 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL LINKS
Each team tried to find its footing on the blustery and rainy day, which kept both offenses stagnant in the first quarter, but it was senior wide receiver and standout kicker Michael Moriarty who took the first step in the right direction for Westfield with a 10-yard rush to the right side for a touchdown 2:50 into the second quarter to go up 7-0.
After a stingy defensive stop by Westfield’s dominant defense led by senior defensive lineman Jeffrey Gagum, Nicholas Maher and Owen Kessler, one in which Immaculata was forced to punt from their own end-zone, senior receiver and punt returner Jack Shirk returned the punt all the way to the Spartan 10-yard line.
On the ensuing play, senior quarterback Philip Martini found Moriarty on a quick slant from 10 yards out to extend the Blue Devil lead 14-0.
“We always know week in and week out they’re going to do a great job, if we’re ever down we know they’ll step up for us,” Martini said of his defense. “Every game they are doing something great and we know that will continue.”
Moriarty had four receptions for 37 yards and a receiving touchdown, while also rushing once for nine yards and a touchdown.
With seconds remaining in the first half and Westfield having already exhausted their timeouts, Martini rushed his offense to the line of scrimmage and found senior tight end Kyle Dombroski for a 3-yard touchdown pass to light up the scoreboard again as they headed into halftime leading 21-0.
The reliable tight end had six catches for 68 yards and a touchdown on the day.
Westfield head coach Jim DeSarno knew how important it was to have a total team effort and to get a win on senior day.
“A lot of these guys played a big part in the win today,” DeSarno said. “It’s always special because these kids have played together their whole lives, and to get a win on senior day and on their last home game it is definitely a special feeling to remember.”
With 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, Martini found Shirk from the nine-yard line to go up 28-0. Shirk had six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown while also setting his team up with good field position every time he returned a Immaculata punt.
“Unfortunately our running back went down early in the game, so we were forced more into the passing game, but all the receivers stepped up, as well as our offensive line, and we made the plays we had to make,” Martini said.
A quarterback keeper by Martini from the Spartan four-yard line extended Westfield’s lead to 35-0 with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter.
Martini collected 203 yards through the air with 18 completions on 27 attempts with three touchdowns, while also running seven times for 13 yards and a touchdown.
“The way the game played out it became very important to get more guys involved, after our tailback left early we were forced to change our style of play and go to the passing game,” DeSarno said. “Our team responded and adjusted well.”
The Spartans made it interesting in the fourth quarter as sophomore quarterback Nathan Barnett found senior receiver Sean Gaffney for a five-yard passing touchdown with 7:39 remaining on the clock.
They then recovered an onside kick, and Barnett found junior receiver Stephen Dwyer for a 37-yard touchdown pass three plays later to make the score 35-13.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, Westfield recovered its second attempt for the onside kick, which allowed the Blue Devils to run out most of the fourth quarter clock to seal the victory and get them another week closer to another undefeated regular season.