NATICK — When the ball was kicked off at 5:59 at Natick High School on Friday night, it may have been 62 degrees, but in the hearts and minds of players and coaches on the Natick and Wellesley sidelines, it felt like a playoff game in December.

The Raiders and Redhawks renewed their rivalry in the 5th edition of the New England Football Journal Showcase of the Week, a game that also happened to be the final game for Wellesley and one last tune up for Natick heading into their “Thanksgiving” finale with Framingham next weekend.

The No. 5 Redhawks couldn’t be stopped offensively with Will Lederman, Nick Ofodile and Jayln Aponte leading the way as Natick cruised to a 42-14 win over the No. 21 Raiders. Wellesley finishes up at 3-2 while Natick (4-0) will look to finish this strange season with an unblemished record against their arch rival.

“We get up for them, they get up for us,” said Natick head coach Mark Mortarelli. “They were banged up, we had guys healthy and we made plays . When you have a three-year starter at quarterback like we do it makes life a lot easier and Will is a special talent. Things worked out pretty well tonight.”

It’s hard to believe that these last two months of the unprecedented Fall II season have already come and gone after so much discussion, preparation and uncertainty swirled around this (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Redhawks have made it a point each week to go out and show the rest of the state just how much of a problem Natick would have been if there was a postseason this spring.

“This week was different,” admitted Lederman. “We had those first three games and we knew they were all going to be tough, but we always eye Wellesley…Wellesley’s our biggest rivalry so this is the game we’ve eyed the whole season.”

“Wellesley’s always a great rival, they always show up and know what to do,” added Aponte. “I love playing them because they always have a great team coming at us. It didn’t feel any different, but it felt good to win though.”

The Raiders were still within striking distance at 21-7 at halftime, but that 14-point lead quickly became a 35-point lead as Natick got a 27-yard touchdown run from Aponte (107 yards, 2 TD), a 56-yard TD run from Lederman (12-18, 214, 3 TD, 110 rushing yards, 1 TD) and a 22-yard touchdown catch from Ofodile in the third to make it 42-7 heading to the fourth.

The Raiders capped the scoring during the fourth quarter on a 52-yard pick-six from linebacker Joey Knight off of Natick backup quarterback Drew George.

The Redhawks wasted little time making a statement on Friday night, taking the opening kickoff and then driving 80 yards in 15 plays. The drive took over five minutes off the clock, included two fourth down conversions and ended with a 1-yard TD run by Aponte. Both teams traded punts and Wellesley began its second drive at the Redhawk 40. Two plays later Anthony Perez hauled in a perfectly thrown ball from Vincent Ferrara to tie the game at 7-7, but that was as close as the Raiders would get.

Another lengthy 10-play drive ensued and wrapped up with a 34-yard touchdown catch from TJ Dalicandro to put Natick up 14-7. With stifling defense shutting down the Raider offense, the Redhawks took their 21-point lead with 2:44 to go in the second on a 43-yard catch and run up the right sideline from Ofodile. Natick actually drove down inside the red zone in the final seconds of the half, but an interception in the end zone by Emmett Lyne kept things close for the time being.

Wellesley started fast during this Fall II season and faded, but any team coached by Jesse Davis will undoubtedly be ready to bounce back this fall. Meanwhile, this Natick team may not be able to chase a Super Bowl title this season, but beating Framingham and finishing this whirlwind season unbeaten would be pretty damn sweet as well.

“I think it’s win, and win by a lot,” Lederman said when asked what the mentality will be heading into the Framingham game despite it not being a “normal”Thanksgiving  matchup between the two. “It’s our last game together and Framingham…we still remember our sophomore year whether we were injured or not, we’ve talked about that all summer.”

“That’s definitely a game we’ve been waiting for,” Aponte added. “It’s our last game of the season, last game as a family, we’ve just got to go out with a great intensity and know what to do…no mess ups.”