By Paul Vozzella

NEFJ Staff

WEYMOUTH — It was a battle of the Wildcats Friday night as the Weymouth Wildcats took on the Milton Wildcats in a Bay State Conference match.

Weymouth was without starting running back Cam Aieta, but that did not stop them from running all over the place en route to a 28-21 victory.

In the absence of Aieta, multiple Weymouth Wildcats stepped up, most notably senior captain Michael Farrow.

Farrow gave Weymouth a lot of momentum with a fumble recovery on the first drive of the game. A play that happened so fast, Farrow almost couldn’t believe it himself.

“I can’t even remember it,” said the captain. “It was just too euphoric.”

However, Farrow managed to snap back into game mode real quick for the ensuing offensive drive. He followed his turnover with a rushing touchdown to give Weymouth the early lead.

“When in doubt, you go to Michael,” said second-year Weymouth coach Michael Donovan. “He’s such a reliable kid and I feel comfortable putting him in any position on the field.”

Even with Farrow’s impressive performance, perhaps the most impressive play in the game came from offensive tackle and senior captain Naheem Ridore when he got to live out every linemen’s dream. Weymouth completed a pass near the left sideline when an old-fashioned hook-and-ladder ended in the hands of Ridore for a first down.

“If you’ve seen Naheem Ridore run, you know you’re gonna find the way to get him the ball in a big moment,” said Donovan. “He’s an incredible athlete . . . You see him run with the ball and he can play running back. That one definitely had the heart rate pulsing.”

Milton wide receiver Harrison Hinckle did not hesitate to give his team a great scoring opportunity following Weymouth’s first score, returning the subsequent kickoff to Weymouth’s 40-yard line.

Milton managed to get their offense into the red zone, but failed to convert on fourth down — an occurrence that happened again in the second half.

Milton’s defense held its own, forcing a three-and-out and executed their next offensive drive to tie the game on a pass from quarterback Patrick Collins to Hinckle.

Despite Collins’ best efforts, this was the closest they would be to Weymouth on the scoreboard for the rest of the night.

On the second play of the next drive, Weymouth’s Tyler Munchbach had a house call on an 80-yard rush to push Weymouth ahead 14-7.

The momentum completely shifted into the hands of Weymouth when defensive lineman Anthony Marques recorded back-to-back sacks forcing a third-and-long and eventual punt.

Trying to out pace their last offensive possession, Weymouth rapidly moved the ball down the field. It took them just one extra play for Munchbach to record his second rushing touchdown of the game.

Scrambling all over the field, Collins was able to lead his offense into field goal range with a chance to put three points on the board going into halftime. The field goal attempt ended in unbelievable fashion as the football ricocheted off the bottom post twice before bouncing in favor of Weymouth.

Milton may have had a chance to hit a closer field goal, or even take a shot in the end zone, but two costly penalties pushed them back too far, forcing them to have to settle for the eventual missed field goal.

Collins tried to get his team back in the game with his legs the whole night but Weymouth’s defense was halting his efforts.

He did, however, manage to make things interesting about halfway through the fourth quarter when he scored a rushing touchdown and threw for another to wide receiver Ryan Fulton to make it a one possession game with 13 seconds left.

Just when everyone was ready to pack up their belongings and leave, Milton executed an onside kick to retain the ball.

Collins made some magic happen, completing a pass down the left sideline that had Milton at Weymouth’s 25-yard line.

That was all the magic Collins could muster, however. His shot in the end zone as time expired was swatted down by Weymouth defenders.

The situation was not something Weymouth was unprepared for.

“That’s another situation that they’ve worked at so much and I’m glad we were able to get that one last play against a tremendous football team,” Donovan said.

The Weymouth Wildcats improve to 5-0 on the season and push Milton back to 3-2.

Weymouth takes on Framingham following a bye week while Milton will host Wachusett next Thursday.