The Wayland Warriors ended their heart-breaking  ’09 season in the traditional fashion, defeating long-time rival Weston 38-7 and finishing the year with a 5-6 record.

The warm and foggy Thanksgiving morning was one this year’s seniors will never forget, especially Dee Cooper, who played like an All-American defensive end and scored not one but two defensive touchdowns, both for over 40 yards.

It was surely a defensive day for the Warriors. Dennis Kim picked off Weston quarterback Nicholas Peacher for a touchdown, and Marcus Mitchell got himself into the action as well, ending the game with a pick of his own.

The Wayland offense added a few points earlier in the game with a 4-yard run by Jeff Brewington and a 13-yard TD pass from Zach Miles to Jeff Brewington.

This is the eighth straight year the Warriors have beaten the Wildcats. “I think it was great how the seniors showed up the the last game of most of their lives,” said Manwon Brisbane, a junior running back. “It was a great way to end their high school careers.”

Unlike the football team, it has been more than ten years since the Wayland has defeated the Weston in the annual Turkey Day Powder Puff game, in which the senior girls from the two towns face off in tag football. This year Weston won again, 12-0.

The Warriors started off strong, with quarterback Lindsay Shelton calling successful running plays that put running back Kathryn Washek in good positions, earning an average of at least four yards each play.

Shelton herself ran the ball but did not receive enough blocking help from her offensive line, even with a strong lineman Lauren Vachon, who played both defense and offense.

The receivers did not receive much action, as most of Wayland’s plays were running the ball. When the ball was passed it was risky because of the wet weather and the chance of interception.

The Wayland girls never made it to the end zone, so defense became a crucial part of their game. Wayland defense recovered a fumble and held Weston to only two touchdowns out of their four offensive drives.

“I thought we played well and it was a lot of fun to learn all the plays and everything in practices,” said Claire Leichter, a captain and receiver for the team.

The girls were far from shy on the field. They were serious, and they looked as though they wanted to play tackle-football, rather than just powder puff. Flags were flying everywhere on Wayland’s defense. Most of the calls were personal fouls for tackling or other rough play.

The game was just two 22 minute halves, with a running clock. “It was frustrating that the game was so short because we definitely could have won if we had more time!” said Leichter. “I hope that we can all get together and play again maybe in the spring.”