Football: Westfield Scores Late, Defeats Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 33-28, With 4Q Touchdown

Westfield defeated Scotch Plains-Fanwood 33-28 in a football game on Friday at Gary Kehler Stadium. The Blue Devils scored the decisive touchdown with just 39 seconds remaining to secure the victory.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood struck first after forcing a punt on Westfield's opening possession. Avery Snow (No. 0) finished the drive with a short touchdown run to give the Raiders a 6-0 lead. Westfield answered with Shaquann McKenith (No. 2) breaking loose for a 50-yard touchdown run to put the Blue Devils on the board, giving Westfield a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Westfield extended the lead to 14-6 in the second quarter before Scotch Plains-Fanwood answered. Joey Reeves (No. 10) made a 30-yard reception, and Snow scored his second touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-13 at halftime. McKenith rushed 23 times for 166 yards and four touchdowns during the game.

In the second half, a key fourth-down conversion by Christopher Hawkins (No. 11) kept a third quarter drive alive for SPF. Gabe Gutierrez (No. 1) scored on back-to-back runs to put the Raiders in front 21-14. Westfield tied the game at 21, but the Raiders regained the lead when Snow broke off a long run to set up Andrew Lourenco's (No. 41) touchdown, pushing SPF ahead 28-21.

Westfield scored again with about three minutes remaining, but the missed extra point left the Blue Devils trailing 28-27. After forcing SPF to punt, Westfield quarterback Max Hymans (No. 17) guided the Blue Devils down the field in the closing seconds. Hymans completed 18 of 24 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. Justin Boufarah (No. 88) had seven catches for 51 yards and one touchdown, Jake Paster (No. 16) added seven receptions for 60 yards, and Jack Schwarzenbek (No. 34) contributed three catches for 20 yards. Westfield found the end zone with 39 seconds remaining to reclaim the lead at 33-28. The two-point attempt failed, leaving SPF with 29 seconds to respond, but the Blue Devils' defense held strong to secure the win.

This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy against official sources.

Produced with AI assistance and reviewed against source records.