The team hoped for their first win on Oct. 4 against BCC. This was an important game for both teams as both stood at 0-4. The game was lopsided as BCC won 27-7.
Senior captain Larry Feldman had a big game, going for 100 yards and a touchdown, with 53 on the ground and 47 through the air. He had a punt return touchdown for 60 yards that was called back. “I hope we can build on this performance even though we lost. All we can do is look ahead to a very important homecoming game against WJ,” Feldman said.
A sea of black filled up the stands as few WJ supporters showed up to the game on Oct. 11. Everyone cheered hard as they looked forward to homecoming weekend. Coming in with an 0-5 record and a hard loss to BCC, the Patriots were looking to get their first win of the season during the long awaited homecoming game.
WJ was coming off a strong first 6 games at 4-1 and Wootton knew that they had to fight for a chance at winning. Before the game, the student section was getting hyped as senior grill masters Matthew Kopsidas, Evan McLaughlin, Daniel Rudden and Ben Bloch led chants. In addition to the loud, supportive student section, the Patriots had some of its old graduates come back to support the team such as Alec Yassin and Jack Berman.
When it came to the game, the Patriot defense started off hot, forcing a WJ fumble on the first play. The Patriots started executing their game plan fast, driving down to the red zone but came up short and fumbled. WJ took this opportunity to drive back down the field and score the first touchdown of the game.
After this touchdown, the WJ Wildcats kept rolling on after this burst of confidence, scoring with ease, finishing the game with 45 points. Wootton’s run game was better this game as sophomore Moses Amobi ran for 86 yards on just eight carries. Senior Bryant Pham powered his way in for the first touchdown of the game and finished with eight yards. Sophomore Justin McGraw had a big game with 64 yards and a touchdown off of just four catches. Wootton finished with 14 points as their record fell to 0-6.
Freshman Chris Castelli had his second start at quarterback against WJ. He finished 11/19 with one touchdown and one interception. He is slowly developing and may still be starting when quarterback Kyler Hamlinz comes back from his injury. Wootton hoped for their first win against RM. The next game on Oct. 18 will be against RM.