Medfield Football Looks to Carry Momentum into Medway Friday

Last week, the football team moved away from its clock control running style on offense and used an impressive to end a three-game losing streak.

This week, the Warriors will look to continue that momentum on offense when it travels to Medway Friday.

“[Quarterback] Alex Opiela is on the same page with TJ Valente and Tim Bernard,” said Medfield head coach Erik Ormberg. “Things are starting to click and the offensive line is giving Alex time to make his progressions. Our running back, Conor Davis had a great game on film. His effort on pass blocking was one of the main reasons why Alex had time to make decisions.”

Ormberg said while Medfield may incorporate more passing plays into the offense each week following the success it had against Norton, the team is still focused on executing a balanced attack – something that will be crucial in Friday’s game in Medway.

“We want to try and control the clock with a balance of run and pass,” Ormberg said. “Practice this week focused on consistency in all phases of the game. Kids
understand their role and a few kids have been asked to do some things
they haven't been asked before. They are all responding positively.”

Medfield (2-5, 0-2) has spent the week preparing for a Tri-Valley League Large opponent that is also 0-2 in league play.

“We are fighting to get that first TVL Large victory,” Ormberg said.

Standing in the Warriors’ way of that first league victory is a Mustangs’ squad that presents subtle but difficult challenges to opponents. Medway is 4-3 overall this season.

“Medway is a lot like Norton,” Ormberg said. “They are not as exotic offensively, but they run the Wing-T with a few variations off of it. They are incredibly
disciplined and hardnosed up front. They feature Ryan Bukis at fullback and
they have a senior quarterback in Pat Sheehan who carries out his fakes and takes advantage of play action [with] conservative, low-risk passes. Medway has a big tight end in Tyler Cummings who is a big target for them in the seam.”
Ormberg described the Mustangs’ defense as “skilled, tough and aggressive.”

Keys to a Warriors’ Victory

Ormberg said Medfield needs to follow its reads on the field and “keys” on defense in order to be successful against the Mustangs Friday.

“[We need to] follow the reads and keys that Medway presents,” Ormberg said. “We need to find the seams in their 44 alignment on defense. We hope to win a few battles on special teams as well.”

Focus at Warriors’ Practice this Week

“The message we sent to the team is that the clock is ticking,” Ormberg said. “For seniors, this all comes to an end in less than a month. We want these guys to cherish every moment they have together as a team. The players have been competitive in practice and we want that to spill over into the game.”

Opiela Honored in Boston Globe

Medfield quarterback and co-captain, Alex Opiela, was chosen as one of the Boston Globe’s “High Five” in its weekly End Zone column, recognizing top high school performers weekly. Against Norton, Opiela was 23-of-39 passing for 301 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran in for another score.

“We had a feeling going into the Norton game that Alex was making good
decisions, stepping into his passes and presenting himself as a constant
threat to run,” Ormberg said. “Our offensive line coach, Kevin Gavaghan has taken tremendous pride in preparing the line to protect Alex. Alex has taken a
few hits this season and a point of emphasis going into Norton was to keep
him upright. Kevin took pride in that challenge and made sure the
offensive linemen did too.”

Ormberg elaborated on his co-captain’s strong play through the first seven games of the season.

“Alex is everything you want in a captain,” Ormberg said. “He is a competitor first and foremost. He is like having another coach on the field. His role
expands each week at quarterback, linebacker, cornerback, punter and blocker on special teams. He leads by example and has taken full ownership over the offense. He and Ife Adebayo have been phenomenal leaders this year and both are playing their best football right now.”

Valente Returns to Familiar Role in Big Way

TJ Valente was Opiela’s favorite target last week in Norton, hauling in 10 passes for over 100 yards in his return to the wide receiver position after filling in on the offensive line.

“TJ is one of the most multi-faceted athletes on our team,” Ormberg said. “He never complains about anything and is tough as nails. We needed him on the line
while we were bringing along a couple of juniors. We needed him back at wide receiver [against Norton] and he [caught] 10 passes for over 100 yards.  TJ understands what being a team player is all about. All through his career TJ has always put team first.”

On Friday, Opiela, Valente and Adebayo will continue to lead the Warriors on the field as they play for their first TVL Large victory  this season – no small task against a program like Medway's.

“Medway has been on top of the TVL for years,” Ormberg said. “They run a no nonsense program. We expect them to go 100 mph on every play and we expect our guys to match and ultimately exceed their level of execution.”

Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Medway High School.

Follow Friday’s Action Live on Medfield Patch

We will be debuting “,” a live blogging feature on Medfield Patch that will provide updates of the action at Medway High School in real time. You will know when a team scores and how they score. You will know when a big play occurs in the game – as it happens and you will be able to see photos of the action instantly uploaded to the live blog. If you can’t make it out to the game Friday, then this is the feature for you to follow the Warriors while they’re on the road. There’s no need to wait for the final score to be posted or read it about it Saturday morning, you will know everything you need to know … as it happens!