Credit: Sofia Ciciarelli

A Wayland football player carries the football down the field. “We’ve cruised through the first three games,” head coach Scott Parseghian said. “[It’s a] combination of us being a good team and also the competition may not be as great as I had hoped.”

Week 4 is approaching for the undefeated varsity football team. The team is currently ranked No. 17 in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division IV power rankings after winning all three of its previous games, against Hopkinton, with a final score of 30-0, Ashland, 35-12, and Acton Boxborough which ended with a 49-0 shutout.

The next game on the team’s schedule is away at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School (SVTHS) located in Billerica. SVTHS is a vocational school who’s curriculum focuses on skilled trades. In addition to being a part of the football team, many of the players are also working as plumbers, carpenters and electricians. This is something that Parseghian believes will create a different dynamic on the football field.

“They have that hard hat mentality like they’re gonna come at us and they’re not gonna stop,” Parseghian said.

SVTHS football team has also had a successful year thus far. The team currently has a record of 4-0. Last year, SVTHS made the MIAA Division V finals where they lost to North Reading at Gillette Stadium. They are currently ranked first in their division.

“We know it’s going to be a dog fight,” senior Braden Leichliter said.

One of the reasons for the SVTHS football team’s winning record is their unique defensive playing style. Parseghian attributes this to many of their players being on the wrestling team which is among the best in the state. Last year, the SVTHS wrestling team went undefeated with a record of 26-0. Because of their wrestling background, the football team is very physical.

We’ve never really gone up against [that] before,” senior Nathan Tobe said. “They’re a very physical team but definitely a team that we can handle as long as we all do our assignments.”

The team is ready to take the challenge head on. Parseghian emphasizes the importance of being assertive and detail oriented.

“We’re gonna tackle hard, we’re going to get after them, we’re going to execute,” Parseghian said. “It comes down to the details.”

For anyone looking to go to the game, kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 and will be held at SVTHS on the turf. Parseghian believes it will be a good test for the football team as their previous opponents have not been as strong as SVTHS.

“We’re going to get good competition,” Parseghian said. “This is the first game [where] we’re going to find out if we can go from good to great.”