Next up on the varsity football team’s schedule is Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS), a rivalry game for both teams as they are bordering towns that are both in the Dual County League (DCL). After the football team lost their Week 4 game to undefeated Shawsheen Valley Technical High School (SVTHS), the team goes into Week 5 with a record of 3-1. The game will be played at LSRHS on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. instead of a usual Friday time because of the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown on Friday. The psych for the game is “pink-out,” which means that members of the Wayland fan section will dress in pink.
Although LSRHS Football is currently No. 20 in Division I of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) power rankings, they have faced stiff competition, taking on top 10 teams such as Methuen and Needham.
Despite their record of 1-3, LSRHS has high level players and multiple collegiate football commits including Charlie Barringer who will be attending Middlebury College and Blake Wessel who will be attending Denison University.
After their 0-28 loss to SVTHS, the football team is, according to head coach Scott Parseghian, planning to go back to the basics in order to beat LSRHS.
“As a coaching staff, we have decided we’re going back to the plays that we put in weeks one and two at Camp Caribou and preseason,” Parseghian said.
So far this season, Wayland has been successful with is their rushing game, using running backs junior Michael Caulfield and Bucknell University commit, senior Max Dresens.
“If we could run those right, we feel like we could beat [LSRHS with] a heavy dose of Michael Caulfield and Max Dresens,” Parseghian said.
Additionally, former LSRHS Football head coach and Wayland guidance counselor Jim Girard is now an assistant coach for Wayland. Girard was the head coach for LSRHS for five years before switching to his current role at Wayland. During his time at LSRHS, he led their football team to a 39-11 record with a Division II finals appearance.
LSRHS has been consistent for the past few years, winning their last three games against Wayland. Nevertheless, Parseghian is confident that Wayland can pull off a win and improve their record to 4-1.
“[LSRHS] has gotten the best of us over the last couple of years,” Parseghian said. “I feel that this team is willing to correct the last couple of years and, and get a [win]. I want to win a football game.”