Wolverines Looking to Spoil Panthers' Playoff Hopes

In four of the last six years, the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between Westwood and Holliston has determined which of the two teams would represent the Tri-Valley League in the playoffs.

While that is not the case this season, the Wolverines still have a chance to play spoiler against their rival, and certainly have the tools in place to get the job done.

Should Westwood knock off the Panthers and Medway defeats Millis, that would create a tie atop the TVL between Holliston and Medway, and would then revert to points allowed in the first half throughout the season, an area in which Holliston currently holds a six-point edge.

"For so many years, we've entered this game with a chance to win the league," said Westwood coach Paul Hallion. "This year, the lesson for the kids is that a man finishes what he starts and honors his commitment to his team."

The Wolverines hold a 24-12-1 edge in the series over the Panthers, but watched Holliston pull out a 17-14 victory last year en route to a Super Bowl runner-up finish.

Thanks to the newly formed Tri-Valley League tournament, Westwood and Holliston have already faced one another this year, with the Panthers vaunted no-huddle offense taking a 35-0 victory in a semifinal game.

Stopping Holliston is something that no one has figured out how to do so far, and the Panthers are averaging 41 points per game. Sean Mayo has become one of the premier quarterbacks in Massachusetts, throwing for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Dan Barone (573 yards, 7 TDs) and Christian Baker (336 yards, 4 TDs) are Mayo's top weapons.

The Panthers can run the ball as well behind TVL Most Valuable Player Kevin Curry (745 yards, 11 TDs) and Jake Frechette. Look for Westwood captain Dan Moloy to anchor the defensive line and Dave DeCenzo to head up the linebackers in trying to keep the Panthers from getting loose. Both players were named to the TVL All-Star Team from the Wolverines defense. will also find himself in the mix quite a bit for the Westwood defense.

Westwood's best defense, however, may be it's offense.

"The biggest thing is to keep the ball away from them," Hallion said. "We need to control the ball and sustain long drives and not let them get going. Once Holliston opens the floodgates, it can be pretty hard to shut them off."

In Westwood, ball control means Sean Amaru, who has recovered nicely from an ankle injury he suffered earlier this season against Norton. He'll run behind a line headed up by fellow TVL All Star Isaac Rice while looking to stay away from Curry, who earned his TVL MVP Award because of his standout season at linebacker.

Quarterback Will Smith will try to balance out Amaru's running with a precision short-passing game. Tight end Glenn Parsons was another TVL All-Star selection, and the Wolverines also have fullback/linebacker Brendan Skehill back to almost full health after missing five earlier games with ankle and knee injuries.

"If Sean can manage to grind out 3-4 yards at a time, we should be able to control the ball," Hallion said. "Holliston swarms the line of scrimmage and are very effective because of their speed. Sean is the type of back who can break something though, and against that style of defense, if he does get loose, there won't be many people back there to catch him."