Rockets Top Wellesley, Stay Perfect Heading Into Super Bowl
November 28, 2024
•Needham wins two in a row over Wellesley for the first time since 2015.
In the 137th Edition of the Oldest Public High School Football Rivalry in the Country, Needham fought through penalties and their biggest rival, but came away with a 20-13 win at Memorial Field to improve to 12-0 on the season. The Rockets stayed perfect as they prepare to go to their first Super Bowl in thirteen years, next Thursday, December 5th at 5:30pm, where they will meet Xaverian in the Division 1 Championship at Gillette Stadium.
Senior Aidan Williams continued to be the focal point of the offense, rushing 24 times for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Needham. The Rockets had 284 yards of total offense, 268 of that on the ground. Wellesley was led by Sophomore Quarterback Lukas Prock, who completed 10-of-20 passes for 108 yards and two TDs, while also rushing it 13 times for 69 yards. The Raiders finished with 190 yards of offense, 82 on the ground along with the 108 passing yards.
With heavy rain in the forecast similar to the conditions in last Friday night’s State Semifinal round, the worst of it came on in the second half. But both teams struggled to get their offenses going, with no scoring in the 1st Quarter.
Needham QB Griffin Carr got the Rockets on the board not quite four minutes into the 2nd Quarter, finding Brandt Bickford in the end zone for the five yard touchdown pass. The extra point was blocked, so Needham went on top 6-0. The Rockets would get the ball back before halftime with Ben Schreiber intercepted a pass by Prock at the Wellesley 29 yard line. But Needham would fail to get on the board again as a field goal attempt by Alex Rufo was no good.
The score stayed 6-0 through halftime and much of the 3rd quarter, until Williams broke a 35 yard run for a touchdown with just over two minutes left. A two point conversion failed, so Needham took a 12-0 lead to the fourth quarter.
Wellesley, however, kept hope alive as they played their final game of the season. The Raiders fell to Division 2 #1 seed Catholic Memorial in their semifinal while Needham, ranked #4 in Division 1, upset #1 St. John’s Prep. With 2:46 to go in the annual Turkey Day showdown with Needham, the Raiders finally got on the board, scoring on an eight yard TD pass from Prock to Tennison Charney. The extra point was blocked, though, so Needham’s lead was 12-6.
On the first play of the next drive for the Rockets, which started at their own 41 yard line, Williams took off, going 59 yards to the house. Carr completed a two point conversion to Joe Kajunski to make it 20-6 Needham with 2:33 to go.
The Raiders marched down the field, scoring on another TD pass from Prock to Charney, then completing a two pointer to pull within seven points with 13 seconds left. But Needham recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock from there. It’s the first time since 2015, the Fenway game, that the Rockets have won two in a row over Wellesley, with a 12-7 win that year following a 27-13 victory in 2014 at Memorial. The Raiders still have the edge in the overall series, 66-62-9.
For highlights of our broadcast, click the video below, from our Needham Channel Instagram:
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