Wakefield
Wakefield
passes early test
By Joe Vieira / Div. 1-2A
Football
Boston Herald - Sunday, September 21, 2008 -
Several questions
surrounded
Chief among them
was whether the Warriors - who were competitive last season, but finished a
disappointing 3-8 - could make the jump to a contender’s status in the
Middlesex League.
Warriors whoop
Tewksbury, 36-12
By by Mark Goodman / wakefield@cnc.com
Wakefield Observer Wed Sep 24, 2008, 11:40 AM EDT
Tewksbury -
Talk about setting the tone early.
The Wakefield High football marched right down the field in its first drive
Saturday afternoon against Tewksbury, culminating in a 5-yard touchdown pass
from senior John Amentola to senior Mike Reynolds.
The Warriors didn’t look back from there, taking a 29-6 lead into the half
and leaving Doucette Stadium with an impressive 36-12 victory.
While this was the Redmen’s second game of the year and Wakefield’s season
opener, it was the visiting team that looked far more polished and ready to
start the league campaign.
“We needed that drive to set the tone for the game; I was very
pleased with that, certainly,” said Wakefield head coach
The Redmen – who got touchdown runs of 32 and 70 yards from senior Joel
Altavesta, but little else – fell to 0-2.
“This is a big-time gut check for us,” said Tewksbury head coach
Brian Aylward. “We’ll see a test of the character the kids have. I have faith
in our kids that they’ll keep fighting.”
Altavesta’s 32-yarder came with 3:23 left in the first half, but by that
time, Wakefield already had all the points it would need. After the Reynolds
touchdown, the Warrior defense forced a three-and-out, and it took six plays
for Wakefield to find the end zone again.
The drive’s big plays were a 44-yard pass from Amentola to senior Nick Dettoree,
and a 26-yard run by senior star Martin Hyppolite. It was Hyppolite who
finished the drive with a 6-yard run, and senior Caio Pacheco’s extra point
made it 14-0 with 54 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Redmen struggled to get anything going, and with 7:26 to go in the
first half, senior quarterback Sean Teel took a sack in the end zone for a
safety. The Hyppolite show continued from there, as he took the handoff on the
seventh play of the ensuing drive and took it 30 yards for the score.
The Redmen responded with Altavesta’s score on the next drive, but any
momentum was quashed when Wakefield simply went right down the field again. On
a third-and-10 from the 50, Amentola hit junior Shane Taylor for a big 27-yard
completion. Two plays later, Amentola found Hyppolite wide open in the end zone
for a 15-yard score with 1:37 to play in the half.
Hyppolite can certainly thank his line for his big day. Senior center
Justin Perry, senior tackles Jeff Sacco and Dave Callahan, senior guard Marc
LaPierre and junior guard Mike Holler consistently got a great push off the
snap, as Hyppolite and fellow senior running back Zack Boyages time and again
got into Tewksbury’s secondary without being touched.
It was Boyages who wrapped up the Warriors’ scoring with 2:46 left in the
third on a great 42-yard run. Boyages appeared to be stopped at the line of
scrimmage, but he bounced it out to the right and went untouched into the end
zone.
Wakefield opens its league campaign Friday night in Burlington at 7.
The end zone High
Five Boston Globe October 2,
2008 QB John Amentola, Wakefield: In his second career
start, the senior threw two touchdowns for the second straight week, pushing
the Warriors to a 27-14 win over Burlington.
DIVISION 2
PLAYER OF THE WEEK Boston Globe
Martin Hyppolite, Wakefield – Hyppolite carried Wakefield to a 27-14 victory over Middlesex League rival Burlington. Hyppolite had 165 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also had 72 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. In just two games, Hyppolite is the sixth leading scorer in division 2
Boston October 6, 2008 Dan Ventura Blog
LIVING UP TO THE
HYPE: Wakefield Woburn
The end zone
High 5 RB Martin Hyppolite, Wakefield: The senior tailback stretched scoring runs
of 3 and 10 yards, and reeled in a 68-yard touchdown pass from John Amentola as
Wakefield dominated Stoneham 27-0.
For
Before the season started,
Three years ago, Boyages
had a team that went 9-1. Its only loss came to
He was trying to explain how the Middlesex League
worked. A one-loss season might get you into the postseason, but in all
likelihood, it wouldn't. So if the Warriors wanted to win their first league title
since 2001, perfection would be almost a necessity.
"There's a lot of stress because week to week
you really can't lose," he said. "There's a lot of pressure to
perform and it's tough."
Right now, the Warriors don't have a blemish, 4-0
overall, 3-0 in the Middlesex. They're scoring 33.0 points per game and giving
up just 6.5. They have a senior quarterback operating the spread offense like
he's been doing it for years even though it's his first season under center.
And they have a power running back who's among the
leading scorers in Division 2.
And going into this weekend's game against
"We don't want our kids to look past this
game, because
So far this season, they've managed to avoid it.
Quarterback John Amentola developed
into one of the team's offensive leaders in his first season under center,
completing more than two-thirds of his passes and throwing seven touchdowns.
"He came in totally inexperienced," Boyages said. "He's really exceeded all
expectations."
Running back Martin Hyppolite is
averaging more than 200 rushing yards per game and has 14 touchdowns.
"He's worth the price of admission,"
said Boyages.
The Warriors have shut out the last two teams
they've faced and haven't allowed a score since the fourth quarter of a 27-14
win over
"Teams want to beat us, he said. "They know we're a pretty good team this year. You
can't win by showing up. You have to take care of business, go out and play
every team like it's our last game of the season."
Julian Benbow
Football team nearly pulls off huge upset
Belmont
By Michael Liuzza
Tue Oct 21, 2008 , 12:49 PM EDT
What a game this turned out to be.
On Friday night, the Belmont High football team
faced off against a highly touted
None of that, however, intimidated
In fact, after Marauder quarterback Vincent Cortina threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Paolillo, the Marauders held a narrow 19-18 lead over the
Warriors in the fourth quarter.
With just 10 seconds left to play in the game,
Still, it was a tremendous effort by the Marauders.
The Marauders came into the contest with two
straight wins and nearly made it three in a row.
Cortina fired a 20-yard pass to Michael Wynott
in the third quarter, and after Cody Anderson’s successful PAT,
With just minutes remaining in the game, the
Marauders led, 19-18.
But the Warriors made the most of its final drive
and managed to leave Harris field with their undefeated record intact.
The Red Devils are coming off their first victory of the season, a 21-8 win
over
Posted by Mike Grossi, Globe
Correspondent October 23, 2008 11:30 PM
The Middlesex League and the Hockomock have very similar make ups.
Wakefield, Reading and Melrose are undefeated at the top, and the next best
teams are 2-4. Wakefield is powered by Martin Hyppolite. Hyppolite preserved
Wakefield’s perfect season with a 30-yard field goal last week to beat Belmont.
Reading is a high scoring team that is led by its running back, Tino Perrina.
Perrina is tied with Ryan Izzo for the most touchdowns in Division 2 with 18.
Melrose has been the team that is flying under the radar. The Red Raiders won
the Middlesex League last year and are in position to do it again this year.
They score 30 points per game which is up there with Reading and Wakefield.
Outside of those three, Lexington, Belmont and Winchester are the next best
teams at 2-4. Lexington has a lot of skill but the Minutemen’s lack of
experience and skill on the offensive and defensive lines has contributed to
their 2-4 record. Belmont has two league wins and relies on Vinny Cortina to
make the offense go. Mike Sumrell has been a key player on offense as well. He
can run and catch and has been filling up the stat sheet recently. Winchester
runs a spread attack that is very explosive. Quarterback Matt Mangano can take
it to the house with his legs but also is rather accurate.
After those teams come the 1-5 teams. Stoneham, Burlington and Woburn are
all very weak teams. Stoneham is never that good due to poor numbers.
Burlington lost a lot of kids to graduation and the Red Devils haven’t been
able to find that player who can take over a game. Woburn has to be the biggest
surprise. In years past, the Tanners were dominant even after losing great
players to graduation. This year is different. The only win for the Tanners was
a squeaker against Stoneham. Woburn won’t be down for long though, as it
probably has some talent brewing.
Key Match-ups Left: Nov. 1 Reading at Wakefield; Nov. 14 Melrose at
Reading; Nov 27 Melrose at Wakefield – Just like the Hock, these games have
major implications. The Thanksgiving Day match between Wakefield and Melrose
should be an instant classic. It should be filled with the emotion of a Turkey
day game and one that could be for the playoffs.
Martin Hyppolite can do it all
By Joe Vieira
Friday, October 24, 2008 -
The stat sheet on
He has rushed for
865 yards and 11 touchdowns, has been on the receiving end of four TD passes,
and even kicked a decisive 30-yard field goal in the waning moments of a 21-19
win at Belmont last weekend.
He is third in
Division 2 with 95 points for the 5-0 Warriors, leading an offense that
averages 30.6 points per game.
Wakefield coach
But the stat
sheet is incapable of telling the whole story, in which family has been just as
crucial to Hyppolite’s success as his natural ability.
His dedication to
the game is rooted in the death of his father, Jean, from a heart attack when
Martin was just 5 years old. Martin’s family - his two older siblings and their
mother, Carline - displayed the strength of character and work ethic needed to
surmount the loss, and passed it on to their youngest member. Carline taught
Martin to use those traits in everyday life, while his brother Cliff, now 28,
taught him to use them in football.
The two lessons
have intertwined to make Martin the kind of high-character, dedicated player
that attracts scholarship offers from the likes of Army, Bryant, Navy and Stony
Brook, and contact from Boston
College, Maryland, Oregon and UMass-Amherst.
“She always gave
me influence about how to act as a kid, to always stay humble,” said Martin of
his mother. “She let me know that if you really want to play football when you
get older, it’s hard work. You can’t fool around.”
Cliff took notice
of Martin’s addiction to football and stepped into the influential role left
vacant by the loss of their father. An avid body builder, Cliff set up
intensive workouts to help Martin develop the endurance he would need.
“My brother
always gave me confidence that I was going to be somebody,” Martin said. “He
played a big role.”
Convinced that
offseason dedication played a role in Wakefield’s disappointing 3-8 mark in
2007, Hyppolite recruited 25 teammates to join in his regimen over the summer,
and he says the results are evident this season.
Boyages knew what
was in store, as his son Zack is a classmate who has played football with
Hyppolite for years.
“There are a lot
of distractions for kids nowadays,” Boyages said, “but he’s stayed very
focused, especially in the last three years. He’s going to be a real good
college player if he keeps that dedication up. A lot of kids have that dream,
but very few of them put the work in necessary to do that.”
Football preview
Middlesex showdown on tap
By Michael Grossi
Globe Correspondent /
As the season winds down, playoff races are heating up - especially in the Middlesex League.
"This is a big game for both teams," said
Reading coach John Fiore put the game into simpler terms.
"We win, we stay in first," he said.
"Every possession, every down, every little inch will count," said Fiore.
"This game looks like a play here and a play there could determine the winner," said Boyages.
Stanley Andre is an effective passer who can make plays with his arm and his legs. He has four passing touchdowns and six rushing touchdowns on the season.
"We have to establish our ground game and throw on schedule to be successful in the game," said Fiore.
On the other side of the ball, the Rockets know what they have to do.
"We have to stop - well, contain - Martin
Hyppolite," said Fiore. "[
"We can't be one-dimensional," said Boyages. "We have to run well and mix in the pass."
Doing the running for the Warriors will be Hyppolite, who has 15 touchdowns and 95 points this season. Despite playing two fewer games than most teams have played, Hyppolite is third in Division 2 scoring. The Warriors also boast a solid passing game. John Amentola is tied for second in the division with nine touchdown passes.
The Warriors are the stingiest team in the Middlesex League
but they haven't faced an offense as explosive or complete as
"I don't foresee us preventing [
In another important game,
Host
Catholic Memorial (6-0, 1-0) travels to 
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
Reading, Wakefield back on top
By Dan Ventura / Football Preview
Friday,
It has come full
circle for the two this year as both are undefeated heading into tomorrow’s
pivotal Middlesex League showdown. The start time has been changed to 5 p.m.
After a close
call against Cambridge, Reading (7-0) has won six straight games by more than
20 points. Tino Perrina has been a star for the Rockets, rushing for more than
1,000 yards with 22 touchdowns, while Ryan Pollack and quarterback Stanley
Andre complete a dangerous backfield.
We’ve seen them a few times and they are a very good
team,” said Wakefield coach
Wakefield (5-0) is coming off a dramatic 21-19 win over
Belmont two weeks ago when Martin Hyppolite saved the day by kicking a 27-yard
field goal with five seconds left. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior is one player
who has caught the eye of Reading coach John Fiore, along with first-year
quarterback John Amentola, who has emerged as a major revelation for the
Warriors.
“Wakefield is a well-balanced team and they have one of
the best players in the state,” Fiore said.
In other action, a pair of key city league contests are
on tap for this afternoon. Madison Park hosts South Boston, while O’Bryant can
put a stranglehold on the Boston South race with a win over Dorchester.
Fresh off an upset win over Blue Hills, Cape Cod/Harwich
faces another big challenge when it travels to Martha’s Vineyard. Other key
league matchups include Arlington Catholic at Bishop Fenwick, Manchester Essex
at Chelsea, Mansfield at King Philip, Mascononet at Wilmington and Norwood at
Framingham.
The nonleague slate is surprisingly full
of good contests considering the lateness of the season. Apponequet travels to
Coyle-Cassidy, while Brockton is at Leominster. The top nonleague games
tomorrow are Xaverian at St. John’s (S) and Bishop Feehan at Attleboro.
Rockets defense delivers
By Joe Vieira
Sunday, November 2, 2008 -
It was a crucial
win for Reading, which improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the league. The
Rockets put a game between themselves and Wakefield (5-1, 4-1) in the league
standings, and set up the potential for a major clash when they host Melrose
(7-0, 6-0) on Nov. 14, possibly with a postseason berth on the line.
Reading’s defense
was the difference-maker, dominating the second half by holding the Warriors to
just 51 yards in six possessions and limiting standout Martin Hyppolite to 89
yards on 14 carries.
“We know
(Hyppolite) is fast and he can get outside, so we tried to protect the edges
and contain him as much as possible,” Pollock said.
Wakefield didn’t
do itself any favors, however, as the Warriors were flagged for four false
starts. Two came on crucial second-half plays, when the game was still in doubt:
a third-and-inches late in the third and a third-and-2 at midfield in the
fourth. Both drives ended on the next play.
“It came down to
numerous times with mistakes,” Wakefield coach
Pollock (eight
carries, 92 yards) broke the game open early in the fourth, sweeping over the
right end before cutting back across the middle for a 52-yard scoring burst
that extended the lead to 20-6.
Perrina (14
carries, 85 yards) added his second score to ice the game.
Both offenses
struggled to gain traction in the first half, as Wakefield managed 161 yards of
offense but turned the ball over twice, allowing for Reading to take a 13-6
lead into the break despite gaining just 143 total yards.
The Rockets
converted the second Wakefield turnover - a Pollock interception of John
Amentola on fourth down at the 9-yard line - into the first points of the game.
Pollock’s
decision to hold on to the ball appeared to be a mistake at first, as knocking
it down would have given the Rockets a first down at their 29.
A 14-play,
91-yard scoring drive that stretched into the second quarter, capped by
Perrina’s 3-yard run, made it a moot point.
Rockets have a blast
stopping Wakefield
By Michael Grossi
Globe Correspondent /
"The
defense was unbelievable," said Fiore. "Everyone was hitting and
getting through their blocks."
The
defense also held John Amentola of
Tino Perrina is the usual star in the
backfield, but Pollock ran the show yesterday. He finished with 92 rushing
yards and two interceptions. Perrina was slowed down
by the
Down,
20-6,
Perrina added a 2-yard score with just more than two
minutes remaining to push the lead to 27-6. With his 24th touchdown Perrina broke
The
Rockets were the first to score, one minute into the second quarter. Aided by
25- and 18-yard receptions by Jimmy Queeney, the
Rockets were able to move to the
"He
is the heart and soul of this team, on offense and defense, he is the
man," Fiore said of Queeney.
Perrina then punched it to give Reading the 6-0 lead.
But
After
traveling to
If
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
Rally falls short for football
By Doug Hastings Lexington
Tue Nov 18, 2008 , 10:31 PM EST
Lexington
Early in the second half, the Lexington High football
team was in trouble – a whole heap of trouble.
But the Minutemen played an inspired third quarter
and gave third-place
The loss drops LHS to 3-7 on the year with only
the Thanksgiving Day game against
Trailing 36-14,
After a booming kickoff by senior Marc Patrick
went for a touchback, a fumbled snap by
The Warriors decided to slow the game down, using
a run-oriented offense to grind out a 13-play scoring drive that chewed almost
seven minutes off the clock. Warrior senior Martin Hyppolite had seven carries
during the trek down field including a 5-yard touchdown run on the first play
of the fourth quarter.
He finished the night with 27 carries for 282
yards and five touchdowns.
Hyppolite and
Nonetheless, Moscatel
and Walsh had huge days running the ball for LHS. Moscatel
finished with 152 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries while Walsh ran eight
times for 131 yards and a pair of scores.
The Warriors scored first when Hyppolite returned
a punt 73 yards for a touchdown just
Big defensive plays by Moscatel
and Simmons gave the ball back to the Minutemen and LHS responded, driving 60 yards for a touchdown as junior quarterback
Myles Adley hit senior Devon Holloway with a 25-yard
touchdown pass. Patrick’s kick put LHS in front, 14-13, with
A 21-yard completion to senior Daron
Holloway and a great play by Moscatel, who not only
recovered a fumble by LHS but picked up eight yards on the play, were the big
plays of the drive.
But the Warriors made the most of the final two
minutes, scoring twice.
Hyppolite led a quick 72-yard scoring drive that
ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Amentola
to senior Mike Noonan with 45 seconds left. Senior Jason Federico caught a
2-point conversion pass after the TD.
A costly late-hit penalty on
Hyppolite leads Wakefield
By Michael Liuzza The
Winchester 9
Meriam Street , Lexington ,
MA 02420
Mon Nov
10, 2008, 03:44 PM EST
Winchester, MA -
Coming in, they knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game.
After all, the Wakefield High football team is one
of the top teams in the Middlesex League this season.
Add in the fact the Warriors were coming off a
devastating loss to top-notch Reading, and things didn’t exactly add up in
As they have done all season long, the
injury-ridden Sachems battled for four quarters of football. But
The Warriors jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter
lead, led by star running back Martin Hyppolite’s
three touchdown runs. Hyppolite tore up the turf, rushing for scores of 52,
eight and 66 yards.
Before the end of the half, Hyppolite struck one
final time, punching in a score from two yards out. The
The Sachems got on the board late in the second
quarter when quarterback Jay Sprague connected with David Thomann
for a 20-yard score. Thomann’s extra point was good
and the Sachems trailed the Warriors, 28-7, at the half.
In the fourth quarter
Martin Hyppolite hungry for Wakefield
By Steve Emery The
After a one-year drought,
And the Warriors can thank Martin Hyppolite, who
guided them to a 34-27 victory over fellow Middlesex League power
The Red Raiders (8-2, 6-2) ended a 10-year drought
in this series with a win last year. Yesterday, the Warriors (8-1, 7-1) were
back on top again.
“When the expectations are that you have to go
undefeated every year, it makes things tough, but this victory against a great
Melrose team really made our season,” said Wakefield coach
Hyppolite was the hero of this holiday showdown as
the Warriors senior ran for four touchdowns, including a 60-yarder followed by
a conversion rush to give
“Martin finished his career in perfect fashion,” Boyages said. “He’s had such a great four years with us and
has been our go-to guy all year, but he is also the first guy to tell you that
he couldn’t do it without his surrounding team members.”
On the other end of the field,
Mike Lahiff stepped in
for
Thanks but no thanks: Wakefield High football team beats Melrose
By Christopher Hurley / churley@cnc.com
Thu Nov 27, 2008 , Melrose
With the win,
“It’s great, it feels really good,” said
The high scoring affair was highlighted by a
marquee match-up pitting two of the Middlesex League’s top talents - Hyppolite
and
Both all-stars didn’t disappoint.
Pizzotti rushed for a team high 185-yards
on 17 carries, scoring three touchdowns for
“I think he busted his collarbone,” said
With Pizzotti out,
“
The Warriors finally took control midway through
the fourth quarter sparked by a huge 60-yard touchdown run by Hyppolite,
cutting the
“They were starting to overload our side,” said
Hyppolite, on his game-breaking drive. “I saw that they were all on the left
side where I was getting the ball, so (I did) a quick cutback to the right
after everyone’s pursuits (were) going to the left. That what opened all the
lanes up.”
“The linemen definitely did a great job all game,”
he added. “They didn’t complain at all, none of them were running out of the
game. They did a great job today.”
Hyppolite added some last minute insurance scoring
on a three-yard run with 19 seconds left in regulation to seal the 34-27
victory.
“I’ve coached here a long time and (Martin’s) a
great back,” Boyages said. “I’ve had a lot of
All-Scholastic running backs and I’ve never had a guy that’s been offered seven
full scholarships before the season is over. He’s pretty important.”
According to Morris, Hyppolite was tough to stop.
“There were sometimes when it looked like we had
him in the backfield and he squirts out of there,” Morris said. “He just keeps
coming. He’s a heck of a back and he’s going to make some college coach pretty
happy, I’m sure.”
Back and forth battle
A converted tailback, Pizzotti
showcased his trademark hustle right from the outset breaking into the end zone
on a big 39-yard run giving
Pizzotti continued to pace the
But the Warriors returned the favor once again
with Hyppolite leading the way. The 6-foot 212-pound tailback raced in on a
three-yard touchdown carry trailing
Pizzotti and Hyppolite continued to trade highlight reel runs in
the third quarter. The Red Raider QB sparked an eight-play drive culminating
with a one-yard sneak to pay dirt taking the 20-12 edge.
But Hyppolite matched his counterpart rolling in
on a three-yard strike on the following series. And when Amentola found
Pizzotti left the game with his injury moments later. Although they
were without its top offensive player, the Red Raiders refused to surrender.
Backup quarterback Mike Lahiff
(3-8, 50-yards passing, TD) connected on a pair of clutch passes to senior wide
receiver Ryan MacDonald (1-23) and junior Will Gardiner (3-55) keeping the
Heading into the fourth quarter,
“We were fortunate enough to have a kid like (Lahiff) that is primarily a wide receiver but has been our
backup quarterback for his entire time in the program,” said Morris. “He did an
excellent job on that.”
The lead was short-lived,
however, as a fantastic kick return put the Warriors inside
According to Hyppolite, going head-to-head against
Pizzotti only fueled his desire to excel.
“It was a big thing,” said Hyppolite, who is
currently mulling over offers from UMass,
The Red Raiders still hold the all-time series
lead between the two clubs which currently stands at 51-37-6
Globe North Sports
Wakefield High's Hyppolite is lining up run to UConn football program
|
|
|
By Julian Benbow
Globe Staff /
For Martin Hyppolite, there's
a certain security that comes with having coaches from the University of
Connecticut football program call him a week ahead of time to go over the final
details of his letter of intent, which he is to officially sign next week.
'I always say if you want
something you go out and get it, and they did that.' on UConn's
focus on him
STRAIGHTFORWARD APPEAL
He can still remember how much pressure he felt six months
ago, heading into his senior year at
His mom was nervous.
So were his friends, who kept telling him whatever he
did, don't get hurt.
"It got kind of hectic," he said. "But
I stayed calm about it."
He spent the off-season tuning his body at Athletic
Evolution, a
"He clearly had the whole package," Warriors
head coach
He let the numbers speak for themselves, combining the
stats with his recruiting tapes to catch the attention of three state
universities in the Colonial Athletic Association -
Eventually,
The Huskies came calling not too long after BC, and
when they did, they made it clear to Hyppolite that he was number 1 on their
list. With junior Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher, entering the NFL
draft, Hyppolite will have an honest shot at earning some carries for UConn in the Big East Conference next fall.
"They didn't play any games," Hyppolite
said. "I always say if you want something you go out and get it, and they
did that. I was the only running back they were taking."
He made his verbal commitment before visiting UConn, but after traveling to
As soon as Hyppolite signs the paperwork Wednesday,
the first day that letters of intent can be signed, UConn
will ship him a specific training program. He'll also receive a playbook, with
an accompanying
"That," he said, "is definitely
commitment."
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.