It never gets boring when you win.
The Bedford High School Buccaneers, once again scoring early and often to leave no doubt about the eventual outcome, won their fifth in a row Friday night at Proctor Field in Weston, 42-6.
Five Bucs populated the scoring column. Junior Eric Miles added two more touchdowns and now has 18 in 2021. Senior Mike DeLia blasted up the middle for a 35-yard score early in the second half. And quarterback Jake Morrison led Charlie Naylor perfectly down the right sideline for a 31-yard catch and score almost 10 minutes into the game. Nick Tatarczuk was six-for-six kicking the extra points.
But it was Richie Fedele, the junior tight end, who had a career night.
It began early – on his team’s third play of the game. Morrison took the snap from the Bedford 28 and tossed to Fedele in the right flat. The junior only needed one move to evade a single defender and raced untouched down the right sideline into the endzone.
Naylor’s catch and Tatarczuk’s kick made it 14-0 at the quarter, and Miles scored from the three a minute into the second period. Eight minutes later, Morrison connected with Fedele again, this time down the middle for 26, with the receiver fighting for the last yard across the goal line.
But wait, there’s more. The Wildcats, hoping to score before the end of the half, went to the air, and Fedele picked off Mack McManus’s pass at the 35 and dashed into the endzone. The return was nullified by a penalty, but Miles ended up with the score on the first snap as he busted through the line at the 41 and was untouched the rest of the way.
Tararczuk’s kick made it 35-0, and after the DeLia score three minutes into the second half, on a similar play, the game was played with a running clock by rule. Weston scored late in the fourth period against the Bedford sub-varsity defense.
Bedford only ran 26 plays before the running clock began, totaling 405 yards of offense in 27 minutes. Miles carried 11 times for 129, Morrison completed eight of 11 to four receivers for 197 yards.
The Wildcats never had a chance against the Bedford defense. Weston only crossed midfield once against the starting defenders—and that was on a series that began at the Cat 46-yard line. The Wildcats managed three first downs against the starters.
So Bedford High is now 6-1 and hasn’t been tested since a come-from-behind win at Oliver Ames High School on Sept. 24.
And people associated with the program are starting to think about November football, which for the first time will comprise a 16-team statewide single-elimination tournament. That’s half the number of qualifiers compared to the former sectional format.
How will the pairings be determined? Surely Bedford, with a record of 6-1 with a home game vs. Boston Latin next Friday, is in the driver’s seat.
But the record is only part of the formula.
The other variable is called power ranking, which assigns points based on the records of the teams you beat. The Bucs, because of their strength of schedule, were in 14th place before Friday’s outcome. If the season ended today, they would be traveling to Foxborough for the quarterfinals in Division 4, which is also new for BHS.
Mathematically, the Bucs could still advance although not enough to cross the threshold for a home game on Nov. 5. It is also a possibility that they wouldn’t even qualify for post-season play, even with a 7-1 record.
Power rankings are updated every morning on the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association website.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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