The Wellington High School varsity football team fell to Cardinal Newman High School 27-19 on Friday, Oct. 5 at home in front of a homecoming crowd.
The Crusaders held the Wolverines to just one touchdown. Though Wellington scored several field goals, the Wolverines couldn’t shut down Cardinal Newman’s offense, letting in four touchdowns.
Both teams scored early. Cardinal Newman put in an early touchdown, and the Wolverines crept toward the end zone, eventually responding with a field goal by Nicholas Rubinowicz to make the score 7-3 with about five minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wolverines took the lead early in the second quarter, when Matt Sabatino ran 13 yards for a touchdown. Rubinowicz added the extra-point kick to make the score 10-7 with just over 10 minutes left in the half.
For nearly the remainder of the half, both teams struggled to move the ball. The Crusaders ultimately broke free of the Wolverine defense and with 39 seconds left in the half, scoring a short touchdown to regain the lead 14-10.
But Wellington used its remaining seconds to respond with a 23-yard drive. A penalty moved the Crusaders back 15 yards, setting up a 43-yard field goal by Rubinowicz to narrow the Cardinal Newman lead to 14-13 at halftime.
The Wolverines took the lead again late in the third quarter when Rubinowicz scored another field goal from the 35 yard line to make the score 16-15. But with less than a minute left in the quarter, the Crusaders responded with a 23-yard touchdown to reclaim the lead. An extra-point kick made the score 21-16 going into the fourth quarter.
Though Rubinowicz put in another field goal in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders sealed the win with another touchdown with six minutes left in the game, to finish off the scoring at 27-19.
Also last Friday night, the Wolverines crowned their homecoming king and queen, Taylor Yackulics and Alina Robertson. Wellington next visits Jupiter on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.
Above: Wellington’s Nic Hall tackles a Crusaders ball carrier just shy of a first down.
