With Cranford up 4-2 in the first quarter, it started to look worrisome for the Blue Devils as Cranford had a fast start and Westfield had a slow opening quarter. However, once the Blue Devils settled in, they turned the game around and defeated the Cougars 20-7, advancing Westfield to the county semifinals.
Despite a tough start from the Blue Devils’ defense, offensive players like junior Harrison Rekemeier, junior Koby Waldman, junior Kieran Gerne, sophomore Cooper Rosen and sophomore Brody Ferguson led the team to victory, tallying a total of 18 goals, along with 1 from sophomore Patrick Smith, senior Kevin Reynders and senior Cooper Cimei each. Additionally, this win was supported by senior Cooper Richman, winning 20 out of 22 face-offs.
Going into the game, the circumstances weren’t ideal with multiple athletic events using the field earlier in the week. Head coach William Wertheimer explained, saying, “It was a little tough, actually, because we didn’t have field space, so we had to [practice] through film and classroom and talking about our game plans and actions here at Westfield High School instead of on the field.”
Once the Blue Devils found their rhythm offensively, there was no stopping them. After trailing early, Westfield responded with consecutive goals, which shifted the energy and built momentum for their team.
“We were down I think 4-2, and then we scored our third goal, and we just didn’t really look back from there,” said Waldman.
Ferguson also highlighted how that boost in the second quarter allowed them to continue on and successfully win the game. “We started off pretty slow, and our coach was mad at us and then we started helping our defense out, because they were having a rough start. So once we picked it up in the second quarter, we were doing a lot better,” Ferguson said.
With a highly anticipated matchup against Scotch Plains-Fanwood approaching, the Blue Devils are gearing up and preparing for another win. “The unique thing is when you play Scotch Plains in the regular season, then you get to play them in the counties, you have a lot of good tape on them,” said Wertheimer.
In agreement, Waldman said, “We’re going to look back at what worked for us against Scotch Plains earlier in the season and focus on what worked, fix things that didn’t work and continue this momentum.”
The Blue Devils will look to advance to the county finals at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday in the county semifinals against SPF at ALJ.
