Although they didn’t win, the Wakefield Warriors ended their high-school football season on a high note of sorts.
By rallying late in a 35-32 home loss to the McLean Highlanders in Liberty District action Nov. 7, the Warriors scored the most points in a contest during their seven-game losing streak.
Wakefield, which stood 3-1 to open the 2025 season, finished 3-7 overall and 0-6 in the district.
The three victories were the Warriors’ most in a campaign since 2021, and even when on the losing end, the team was competitive in more games than in recent seasons.
The Warriors were 2-8 a year ago after consecutive 0-10 seasons in 2022 and 2023.
The 210 points the Warriors scored this season were the most during that four-year losing stretch. They avoided any shutouts this fall for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
One streak Wakefield did not end this fall was its district losing streak, now standing at 24 straight losses over four seasons. The team has not reached the post season region playoffs since 2021.
Despite seven losses this fall, third-year Wakefield head coach Clarence Martin says his team continued to improve and get more competitive in games. Two of the Warriors’ losses this year were by three and four points, and they allowed a late-game touchdown in a 21-7 loss to the Marshall Statesmen.
Martin praised the way his team continued to play hard and rally in games that it lost after falling behind by double-digit scores against Falls Church, Marshall, Herndon and McLean.
Against McLean, Wakefield trailed 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 35-17 in the fourth. The Warriors scored the game’s final 18 points to pull within 35-32 with 4:43 to play.
Leading Wakefield’s offense as he did all season was junior quarterback Judah Connor. He completed 22 of 30 throws for 272 yards and threw four touchdown passes.
The scoring throws went to Andrew Mason for 85 and 29 yards and to Xavier Winkelmann for 11 and 24. Connor also threw a two-point conversion pass to Chris Gilpin.
Andrew Jackson booted a 25-yard field goal, his sixth for the season, and three extra points.
Mason caught nine passes in the contest for 136 yards, Winkelmann had six catches for 101 and Connor Morrison six for 42. Dylan Hutchinson had 39 yards in kickoff returns and Mason 20.
Leading tacklers for the Wakefield defense were Hutchinson, Sean Perry, Josh Radka (one sack), Dash Gloss, Nathen Gray, Abraham Velis and Santiago Aceves Villanueva. Brayden Murray broke up three passes.
For the season, Connor threw for 2,291 yards and 18 touchdowns in the Warriors’ pass-oriented offense. He completed 178 passes and led the team in rushing with 190 yards.
Winkelmann, a freshman, caught 54 passes for 995 yards and eight touchdowns. Mason had 44 catches for 632 and seven scores, Morrison 23 for 170 and a TD, and Gilpin 14 for 160 and one score.
Runningback Saswat Aryal had 155 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and he caught 12 passes for 150.
