Big finish for Westie
Miranda nets two scores at Fenway
By TOM MULHERIN
If the football program is going to end for West Roxbury, it might as well end in style.
Playing its Thanksgiving game last night at Fenway Park after news broke of the high school potentially closing following this year, the Raiders finished their season with a 24-6 win against Burke in a Boston City League matchup.
The Westie defense paced a big second half by recovering three fumbles from the Bulldogs (1-8), while senior running back Dayson Miranda scored both of his touchdowns in the third quarter to build up the lead.
It took until the final snap of the game for Burke to score against the Raiders (7-4) on a 2-yard rush from Daniel Smith.
“It was extremely special (to win at Fenway Park),” Raiders coach Derek Wright said. “With the status of our school, we don’t know if it’s going to close or not. It’s on the books to close. This could be the last game that we ever play, the last game I coach for West Roxbury. This was special, like a fairytale ending.”
Both teams started off the game pretty slow, as Burke accrued just 35 total yards in the first half while the Raiders picked up one score for a 6-0 halftime lead. But Westie exploded in the third quarter.
Following a 32-yard connection between quarterback Lazarus McBean and Luis Pena, Miranda punched in a 3-yard run to start off the second half. The Raiders forced a fumble on Burke’s first play of the half, and McBean followed a 53-yard Talif Stewart run with a 1-yard TD keeper. A fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff then set up a 28-yard rushing score for Miranda up the middle and a 24-0 lead.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Miranda said of scoring twice in his final game. “All I know is, I’ll be able to drive by Fenway all the time and know I got two touchdowns here for the rest of my life. That means a lot.”
Miranda posted 45 rushing yards and Pena had 71 receiving yards with a touchdown. Derek Bertucci, Donavan Solomon and Nicholas Cetoute recovered the three fumbles for the Raiders.