The Westwood Patriot football team dominated Time of Possession on Friday en route to a 36-23 victory at Hancock. The Patriots scored 22 unanswered points during a stretch that spanned from the second quarter to the fourth; possessing the ball for all but 1:49 during that time.
Hancock drew first blood when they converted on 4th-and-8 with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Colton Salani to Connor LeClaire. LeClaire’s successful PAT kick put the Bulldogs up 7-0 with 1:24 left in the opening quarter. Westwood responded with a two-yard touchdown run by Taylor Dellangelo, set up by Chad Pohlman’s 40-yard reception two plays earlier. The successful two-point conversion put the Pats ahead 8-7 with 11:50 to play in the first half.
Hancock answered on their next drive when Austin Salani carried the ball across the goal line from 12 yards out; the two-point conversion gave the Bulldogs a 15-8 advantage. That’s when the Patriots marched 76 yards down the field, chewing up more than seven minutes and converting on a 4th-and-4 from their own 33-yard line before Pohlman trimmed the Hancock lead to 15-14 with an 8-yard rushing score. The Bulldogs drove inside the Westwood 25-yard line in the final minute of the half but came up empty.
The Patriots opened the second half with a 56-yard scoring drive that ate up over six minutes before Dellangelo tallied his second rushing touchdown of the night, this time from 15 yards out, putting Westwood ahead 22-15 with 5:50 left in the third quarter. The Patriot defense forced a punt, setting up an 80-yard scoring drive capped by a 14-yard rushing touchdown from Dellangelo. The successful two-point try doubled Westwood’s lead at 30-15 with 16 seconds left in the quarter.
Hancock had life with an interception early in the fourth frame, setting up a 31-yard rushing touchdown by Colton Salani. The two-point conversion made it a seven-point game but the Bulldogs could get no closer as Dellangelo punched in a three-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to cap the scoring.
Westwood, winners of three straight games, improve to 4-2 and return home next week to take on L’Anse.