Lakewood Pulls Away, Beats Westlake 32-21

The Lakewood Rangers hosted the Westlake Demons Friday night at 7pm. The night was special, with it being Teacher Appreciation Night and also having the school honoring the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Lakewood football team. It was a perfect summer night for some football.

1st Quarter

Westlake started the game on a great opening drive, with a couple tosses from Brucchieri leading the way, and great runs from running back Jake Ostrowski.  However, it proved to be fruitless, with Brucchieri tossing his only interception of the night.

Lakewood took advantage of this turnover with running back Braeden Greenfield absolutely bruising the Westlake defense. The Rangers ended the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run from Manny Serrano, his first of two on the day. Lakewood missed the extra point making it 6-0 Rangers.

Later in the first Lakewood would find themselves in a long 4th and 12. They decided to go for it, causing some scratching of some heads in the stands. They do not convert, and Westlake has the ball in Ranger territory. Running back Jake Ostrowski continued his great play with an 18-yard rush to set up a leaping rushing touchdown from Brucchieri. Westlake takes the lead 7–6. With another kickoff, Jacob Stoll sets up the Rangers for a great drive with a 40-yard return. The first quarter ends 7-6 with Westlake out on top.

2nd Quarter

Yard by yard the Rangers marched down after the long return from Stoll. Manny Serrano rushed for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 12-7 Rangers. The Rangers would try for two, but would be unsuccessful. 

After Jake Ostrowski’s strong running in the first quarter, the Demons went right back to him. However, Ostrowski ended up on the ground at the 9:13 mark in the second quarter. A devastating blow and an injury that would impact the rest of the game for the Demons. Just 20 seconds later, quarterback Sam Bruccheri injured himself as well. Two brutal blows for Westlake. Backup quarterback Mohammed Abdelhandy would step up for the Demons, as his favorite target Chris Cambell would lead a drive for the Demons resulting in a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Antonio Colon. Colon would also catch a two-point conversion for the Demons off a quick slant, resulting in a 15-12 Westlake lead.

While riding a high, quarterback Avery Holt of Lakewood shushed the crowd of Westlake with a huge 51-yard run.  Add a couple good runs by the tandem of Serrano and Greenfield, Holt tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Stoll. With a field goal to add on, it was now 19-15, Lakewood. This would be the remaining score going into halftime.

3rd Quarter

Lakewood started the second half on a mission, with a long return from Tyrese Gatling to the 39 yard line. Jaylen Chappel would end up catching a jaw-dropping 12-yard touchdown grab at the corner of the endzone to extend the Ranger’s lead to 26-16.

On the Westlake side, Sam Brucchieri came back into the game after not playing another snap since the 9:50 mark in the second quarter. Backup quarterback Moe Abdelhandy finished his night going 4/9 for 38 yards. The saving grace for the Westlake Demons was Chris Campbell, who caught 7 out of 7 passes for 72 yards. He was Brucchieri’s safety net for the game. Long catches of 12, 11, and 19 yards for Campbell led the Demons downfield. They found themselves in a tricky 4th down, with Brucchieri throwing a beautiful ball to Stephen Trowbridge. However, the ball bounced out of his hands. This would be the beginning of the end for the Demons.

To add salt to the wound, two defensive pass interference calls went in favor of the Rangers. Tyrese Gatling would end up running for a 1-yard touchdown dive. Although Westlake blocked the extra point, the Rangers still were up comfortably, 32-15. 

4th Quarter

Mr. Reliable Chris Campbell of Westlake would start the fourth quarter with a great 11-yard touchdown grab, making it 32-21 off of a failed two-point conversion for the Demons. All the Rangers had to do in the fourth quarter was give the ball to Braeden Greenfield in the, who racked up first down after first down to help chew clock. Greenfield would finish his day with 83 yards off of 19 carries. Running back Manny Serrano fumbled the ball to give the Demons great field position in what seemed to be a game that was wrapped. The Ranger defense proved too much as a loss of downs would be the end of the Demons.

The Rangers would wrap up the 4th quarter comfortably, winning the game 32-21.

Key Stats: 

Avery Holt – 8/16 for 52 yards and 2 TDs

Manny Serrano- 11 carries 77 yards and 2 TDs and a fumble

Braeden Greenfield- 19 carries for 83 yards

Jaylen Chappel- 4 catches for 27 yards and a TD

Sam Bruccheri – 13/31 132 yards and a TD, interception + 54 yards rushing and rushing TD

Jake Ostrowksi- 7 carries for 44 yards

Antonio Colon- 13 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown

Chris Campbell- 7 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown

Player of the Game: Manny Serrano