By: Matt McCarthy

With the season coming to a close, the Westborough Rangers Varsity football team are closing out with an unfortunate 3-6 start. Despite this, the Rangers still have high hopes for the rest of the season. Coming into this year the team knew it wouldn’t be easy after losing multiple key players, including quarterback Dan Lis. With the loss of these players came a wave of new younger players ready to step into the spotlight and prove capable of changing the Ranger’s fortunes. The Rangers are in the process of rebuilding the team in Coach Dave Tinglof’s second season at the helm. Players such as Juniors Peter LaMountain, Jake Clancy, and Senior Avery Andrews have gotten better as the season has carried along.  

Like most teams, the varsity football team have faced their fair share of adversity early in the season. With losses to key players due to injury or suspension, one player who knows this all too well is senior captain Max Weidhaas. In a preseason 7v7 game Weidhaas tore his ACL while going out for a pass. “I was playing in a preseason scrimmage and I made a cut and my knee popped” said Weidhaas.  Knowing this season would be his last for the Rangers, Max knew he couldn’t sit out: “I got a special brace that is like a mechanical ACL.” He knows the possible outcomes of playing with the injury but it’s a risk he’s willing to take. While speaking for the team as a whole, he mentioned the upcoming game against Algonquin as being one of their most sought after wins.

Even with the Tomahawks being a dominant program, the Rangers aren’t backing down from the challenge. Starting Junior receiver Aidan Burke said, “I think it’s going to be a challenge for the team, but nothing we can’t overcome. We know we have a chance against them and any other team on our schedule”.

  The schedule for the Rangers has been their hardest in recent years. They had the tough under the lights game vs Shepherd Hill, as well as games against powerhouses Nashoba Regional High School and Leominster High School. The Rangers will hope to finish the season with two more wins, one against Groton-Dunstable who they beat in overtime, as well as the highly anticipated Thanksgiving game against Algonquin Regional High School.

Best of luck to the Rangers in the rest of their season.