Worcester Academy football puts on a 'show for the city' in win over Berkshire at Polar Park

WORCESTER — Engulfed by a sea of maroon jerseys on the outfield grass Sunday afternoon, T.J. Verdi pressed the record button on his cellphone and asked his surrounding football teammates one question: What are you having?

“We’re having a W today,” Worcester Academy senior A.J. Grniet said.

Not only did Worcester Academy pick up a 32-0 win over Berkshire School on Sunday. But the Hilltoppers had the unique opportunity to toss the pigskin around Polar Park while family and friends from around Worcester filled their bellies with food and drink at the home of the WooSox.

“It was beautiful,” Worcester Academy captain Jojo Uga said. “Just the scenery, everybody being out to support us and everything, that was just beautiful. I love it. I like Polar Park. It’s a nice place to be at.”

Uga was all smiles after the 6-foot, 195-pound senior scored two touchdowns — one a 71-yard punt return and the other a 5-yard run — to help his gridiron gang pitch a shutout on the same field Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale threw baseballs on earlier this summer.

“It’s a little different being on a baseball field,” Uga said. “But it’s still the same thing; running around, flying around, having fun and everything. That’s all it is.”

With touchdowns and goalposts taking over for the usual home runs and foul poles, it took all of 2½ minutes for Worcester Academy to christen one of the newly sodded end zones on Sunday. Senior quarterback Charlie “Chaz” Arvanigian found classmate Tucker Welcom for a 61-yard TD pass with 9:29 to play in the first quarter to put the hosts up 7-0 following an Ian Kwapong extra point.

After failing to put up a single point in a 27-0 loss to St. Paul’s last week, scoring early against Berkshire provided a lift for the Hilltoppers.

“It just felt good to score,” Worcester Academy coach Jeremy Bandy said. “Not scoring last week, it was like ‘Hey we can do this’ and I think anytime you do that, with kids especially, they get some confidence, and they believe in themselves a little bit more, and they just kept going, and it was great to see.”

Worcester Academy junior Marco DiPlacido continued the scoring early in the second quarter with a 47-yard TD run before classmate Griffin Collins returned an interception 32 yards for a score. Uga then capped off the first half with a nifty punt return for a touchdown to hand the Hilltoppers a 26-0 lead heading into halftime.

“I just kind of put my foot on the ground and ran to the left and seeing the sideline — I just ran and scored,” Uga said.

Following a break that landed Worcester Academy players inside the same lockers of former WooSox players Bobby Dalbec, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, the Hilltoppers topped off the scoring in the fourth quarter on the aforementioned TD run from Uga.

The postgame grins on the faces of Arvanigian, Uga and fellow captain Keith Sarkodieh said it all on Sunday. So, too, did the answer to Verdi’s question.

“Just being a part of this team is a blessing,” said Sarkodieh, who transferred to Worcester Academy from St. John’s — along with Arvanigian — two years ago. “Best choice I’ve made yet.”

“Just electric,” said Arvanigian, who made his first varsity start for the Hilltoppers on Sunday. “It feels amazing to put on a show for the city of Worcester.”

Their coach agrees. It was a good day at Polar Park for the Worcester Academy football team.

“I couldn’t be happier for them,” said Bandy, who owns season tickets to WooSox games. “A lot of pride in this city, a lot of pride in Worcester Academy, playing downtown at Polar Park, the kids loved it. They had a great time.”

— Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44. 

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Academy wins football game played at the home of the WooSox