BELMONT – Strong special teams and an effective run game helped steer Waltham to a 24-12 victory over Belmont on the first night of the 2025 high school football season.
Waltham (1-0) secured two first-half safeties on Belmont (0-1) and later erased a second-half deficit to key the win. Hawks head coach Sean Brackett said the team was focused on starting the year on a positive note and wanted to earn some bragging rights over the nearby Marauders.
“We knew it was going to be a battle; we have been calling it a ‘battle of the border,’” Brackett said. “I just wanted our guys to show up tonight and play ‘Waltham football.’”
Waltham began by driving into the red zone, before the Belmont defense got a fourth-down stop. The Belmont offense had two ineffective runs before a high snap on third down resulted in a safety.
Waltham’s Austin Lucente followed with a 7-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter. A failed extra point gave Waltham an 8-0 lead and significant momentum.
But not for long as Belmont’s Casey Regan took the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for the first Marauder score. A two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.
Neither team could get any momentum generated on offense for the next several drives, with Regan securing an interception on one promising Hawks drive, but an excellent punt by the Hawks put Belmont on their own two-yard line. A strong rush from the defense then resulted in the second safety of the game.
Waltham would then push to the end zone after the punt, but a throw to the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
Belmont nearly fumbled the kickoff to open the second half, but kept possession. It became the Regan show with runs of 15, 0 and 0 yards yards setting up a third-and-10. Regan dropped back before scrambling out of the pocket and then charging downfield for a 77-yard touchdown.
Now up 12-10, a quick defensive stop gave the Marauders the ball back in their own territory. Belmont couldn’t find any magic this time and would be forced to punt.
Waltham started their next drive at their own 44-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Wes O’Connor broke an early tackle and took the ball to the end zone to re-establish the lead.
“I had the mindset of ‘I’m not getting tackled on this play,’” O’Connor said. “It worked, I got the touchdown.”
Waltham would get the two-point conversion via a run from Lucente to go ahead 18-12. The Hawks would then force a fumble on the next Marauder drive and took over deep in Belmont territory.
A few plays later, quarterback Ryan Dragone threw a strike to Jaden Ssenfuma, and the senior took it 22 yards for a touchdown.
“It was my first start and getting ready for the varsity speed,” Dragone said. “Once I got with it I was there.”
Waltham starts the year off on the right foot, and Brackett said it helped him get a feel for what his team can accomplish this year.
“We were figuring it out in the first half, and then our guys who we know are going to be studs for us made plays,” Brackett said. “We were working that momentum and being consistent and that worked for us.”
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