Framingham stuns Wellesley

WELLESLEY — For the past two decades, Framingham football fans became accustomed to marking down Wellesley as a scheduled loss on the calendar.

Thanks to Akye Boston, the Flyers finally exorcised some demons. The senior running back finished with 17 carries for 179 yards and a trio of touchdowns Saturday, as Framingham staved off a furious late comeback bid in a stunning 24-21 victory over the Raiders.

During the first half, Framingham (2-0) was in complete control. With 3:48 remaining in the first quarter, the Flyers handed the ball to Boston on fourth down, only needing a single yard to pick up the first. He broke two tackles, then fought his way into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown as Framingham took a 6-0 lead.

Facing another fourthdown predicament with 10:08 to play in the first half, Flyers junior quarterback Cody Coleman dropped back, scrambled to avoid a sack, and fired the ball downfield. Senior Robert Viele corralled the pass and jogged the rest of the way for a 42-yard touchdown reception, making it 12-0.

“(Wellesley has) a really good edge, so they come up,” said Coleman. “I just knew I had to reset my feet. Had pressure coming from the back, and Viele is really great at making plays downfield, so I just trusted him, threw it up.”

With 3 minutes to go in the second quarter, it appeared as though Wellesley was set to cut it to a onescore game as sophomore quarterback Vincent Ferrara connected with Wedner Cadet on a pass. The senior sprinted toward the goal line and extended the ball but at the last second, Framingham junior Zach Semakula converged on the receiver with a few teammates, punching the ball free. The Flyers recovered at the 1-yard line.

Two plays later, Coleman handed the ball to Boston, who beat the rush to the edge and then sped up the sideline, scampering 99 yards for another touchdown.

Wellesley chipped away behind a pair of rushing touchdowns from sophomore Jakob Parker and a 46yard touchdown connection between Ferrara and Cadet in the second half, but the hill was too steep to climb in the end.

Needing a first down to keep hopes of a miraculous rally alive with 40 seconds left, Ferrara’s pass on fourth down fell incomplete.

Coleman finished with 199 total yards (106 rushing, 93 passing) for Framingham.

“This means a lot,” Boston said. “Twenty years … it feels good, man, to knock off a ranked team. A lot of people were doubting us, so it felt good to come out and take that win. It was a great experience. We just knocked off a ranked team, now they have to put some respect on our name and start taking us more seriously.”