On Thursday, November 26, the WA Grey Ghosts Football team took on Acton-Boxboro (AB) in their annual Thanksgiving day showdown. The Ghosts won with a final score of 33-10 to cap off their impressive season.

WA’s defense started off with a bang, as junior defender Eric Jacobsen snagged an early interception. The Ghosts’ offense quickly moved downfield and they quickly gained an early 7-0 lead after senior captain Nick Fiorillo’s touchdown reception.

After another quick AB possession, the Ghosts had the chance to increase their lead. WA brought the score up to 14-0 after another one of Fiorillo’s touchdown reception.

The rest of the quarter was rather uneventful, until junior quarterback captain Connor Degenhardt threw an unfortunate interception with 21 seconds to go in the quarter.

After a few minutes of AB possession and a nice defensive stop from senior captain Nick Diamond, the Ghosts’ offense went back to work.

The WA drive started off with a big gain of yardage from Degenhardt and put the Ghosts in good field position. Eventually, after a few more plays, senior running back captain Ben Cassidy found his way to the end zone to put WA up 20-0 with about 8 minutes left in the half.

AB’s offense then tried to cut down the Ghosts streak and eventually did after a field goal to make the score 20-3. However, WA capitalized on another chance to add to their lead. With about 44 seconds in the half, WA increased the score to 26-3 after finding their way into the end zone yet again.

For the last time, AB had the chance to add some points to the board, but after a fumble on the kickoff, WA had possession of the ball once again. The Ghosts quickly moved down field to score another touchdown widening their lead at the end of the half to 33-3.

After halftime performances from the AB and WA marching bands, the second half started with the Ghosts in possession.

The majority of the second half was not as eventful as the first half, as neither team generated nearly as much offense. However, both had a stellar defense.

Finally, with about 9 minutes left in the game, the Colonials would score a touchdown to cut the lead to 33-10. However, WA’s lead was too large to overcome, and WA would go on to win with a final score of 33-10.

This was the team’s largest victory of the season, and it was the second consecutive year that they have defeated the Colonials on this day.

Senior captain Charlie Barnas attributed the team’s success to their chemistry.

“We were closer. We were a close family and everyone has each other’s back because we’ve been playing together for so long and trusted the coaching staff,” said Barnas.

Diamond also believed their success was because of their coaches.

“The closeness of the team […] the coaches knew us better than ever.,” said Diamond.

As for Cassidy, he says that this season was so different because everyone found it to be enjoyable.

“We just had fun playing the game we love. Every practice, every game, we had fun while working hard,” said Cassidy.

Gallery • 18 Photos

The football team during the Thanksgiving game.