It has been a while since the Wakefield Warriors have had a winning record early in any football season.
But thanks to a 34-20 road victory over the Lewis Lancers Friday night (Sept. 12) in non-district play, Wakefield improved to 2-1 after losing its season opener.
The last time the Warriors had a winning record three games into a regular season also was with a 2-1 mark during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The two wins to date match Wakefield’s victory total of last season.
“This is where we want to be and we are excited about that,” third-year Wakefield coach Clarence Martin told ARLnow. “We didn’t play our best, but the kids played tough and stayed tough the whole game.”
Wakefield had hoped to win its opening contest this fall, but lost 38-17 to host Falls Church, in large part because of multiple special-teams mistakes.
“We were disappointed in that game, but we have gotten better and learned a lot from that loss,” Martin said.
Wakefield bounced back with a 42-0 blowout victory over Rock Ridge in its second game.
Against Lewis (1-1), the Warriors amassed 303 total yards, had 16 first downs and just one turnover. They scored in multiple ways and never trailed.
Wakefield was ahead 10-7 at the end of the first quarter and 34-20 at halftime. There was no second-half scoring.
The flow of the game was sluggish, lasting a lengthy 3 hours, 21 minutes — lengthened by penalties and multiple players suffering on-field leg cramps that needed trainers’ attention.
Leading Wakefield’s no-huddle, quick-snap offense against Lewis was quarterback Judah Connor. The junior was 14 of 33 passing for 153 yards, with another 64 yards rushing.
Connor threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Xavier Winkelmann (two catches, 72 yards) and ran seven yards for another score.
Senior runningback Saswat Aryal ran for 72 yards and caught two passes. Senior receiver Andrew Mason caught five passes for 41 yards and ran for 11 yards; Connor Morrison had two catches; Chris Sewell, Chris Gilpin and Andrew Larue had a catch each; and Aman Azad had 16 yards rushing.
On special teams, Mason returned the game’s opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and Andrew Jackson booted field goals of 32 and 37 yards, kicked four extra points and handled multiple punts. Sewell also had significant return yardages.
Also on special teams, Santiago Aceves Villanueva returned a snap fumbled by the Lewis punter 31 yards for a touchdown. On defense, he intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble and made multiple tackles.
Brayden Murray had an interception deep in the end zone for Wakefield and broke up two other passes. Gilpin and Mason also had breakups.
Larue, Murray, Morrison, Sean Perry, Antonio Warlock and Joshua Radka also were among tackling leaders. Perry, Larue and Abraham Velis teamed for a sack. Perry had a long tackle for a loss.
NOTE: The 2020 season was the last time Wakefield finished with a winning mark, going 4-2 record in that shortened campaign … Wakefield’s last two-game winning streak came in 2021, when the Warriors won three games in a row. The 2025 squad will have the chance to match that three-game streak when it takes on the Justice Wolves on Friday, Sept. 19.
