On Monday, June 4th, in an event put on by the Westford Academy Athletic Boosters, the Patriots All-Stars took on the Westford Academy Athletic Boosters All-Stars. The event helped to raise money for the WA Athletic Boosters, an organization which supports athletics at WA.

The Patriots team had four current players, safety Duron Harmon, defensive end Derek Rivers, linebacker Christian Sam, and defensive back Damarius Travis. Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Chris Bramanti and his daughter Senior Emily Bramanti were also on the team. The Boosters team had teachers and students from WA, including theater arts teacher Michael Towers and varsity basketball players PJ Crann and Allie Mulhern.

The Patriots All-Stars won by the final score, but overall, it was a win for everyone. The members of WA who played had a great time, the Patriots players enjoyed themselves, and the fans were entertained from start to finish. WA Senior and Varsity Basketball Manager Zach Loesch, who played for the Booster’s team, expressed his excitement about playing in the game.

“It’s for a great cause, it happens every year, I’m just glad to be a part of the tradition,” Loesch said.

After the player introductions took place, it was time to get the game underway. Harmon showed off his skills early, knocking down a couple threes, helping to build a 28-16 lead for the Patriots team. The Boosters struggled at the beginning with communication, shown one time in an errant pass that hit Towers’s head and went out of bounds.

WA was able to cut the lead from 12 to 9 in the second quarter thanks to some good ball movement from WA Boys Varsity Basketball Player Senior Ashwin Vasan and Mulhern. Vasan, Mulhern, and Crann, who are usually very serious when playing in games for WA, were much more relaxed in this exhibition game, often seen smiling and joking with members of both teams.

There was still some strategy involved for the game, mostly centered around the unmatched athleticism of the Patriots players. Emily Bramanti talked about how they had helped their team get off to a good start at the half.

“They can’t really guard any of them [the Patriots players] so we keep passing it off and they are making it so it’s good,” Bramanti said.

This sentiment was echoed on the other side as Zach Loesch talked about how even though the Patriots were hard to guard he still felt WA was playing well as a team.

“Those Patriots guys are pretty good, and I haven’t practiced at Spring Rec Ball,” Loesch said. “I’m working through it. I think we are playing well as a team.”

The third quarter started with a run from the WA team, as PJ Crann got some baskets with some Patriots players on the bench. The game had all the sudden became close, causing one fan to exclaim “What a game we got here!”.

However, Rivers got to the rim at ease when the Patriots lead started to dwindle, and his efforts had them still in the lead by seven after the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was filled with excitement, as Travis took over the announcing gig, and had some hilarious commentary. This was just one of the many ways the Patriots interacted with the fans, as during halftime Rivers, Harmon, Travis, Sam, and retired Quarterback Scott Zolak all signed autographs and took pictures with fans.

Travis may have been announcing, but the fourth quarter was the Emily Bramanti show, as she drained threes from all over the court to seal the win. Bramanti expressed how excited she was to play another game on her home court at WA.

“Definitely good to play another game on this court. When I got asked [to play] I was like, yes, I obviously want to play. It’s been a lot of fun.” Bramanti said.

Rivers, who had been cheering on Bramanti as she took over the game in the fourth quarter, had a big dunk to cap off an 85-77 win for the Patriots team.

After the game was over, the Patriots players took a few more pictures with some excited fans, then they were escorted out.

Chris Bramanti who was also cheering for Emily from the bench expressed how kind the Patriots had been to him and his teammates throughout the game.

“The Patriots guys who come are all so so nice, so good. They want everybody to have fun, they want everyone to be engaged. They were always making sure we got in the game, it was a lot of fun,” Bramanti said.