Inside the Rivalry: How Lincoln and Westfield Turned a Regular Season Game Into Must-Watch TV
When two programs with identical records and a shared history of playoff heartbreak met on a Tuesday night in February, the gym was standing-room only.
The parking lot at Lincoln High was full by 5:30 p.m. — ninety minutes before kickoff. Tailgates lined the grass median, and the smell of charcoal drifted past the ticket booth where a line of students in red and white stretched back to the street. This was not a playoff game. It was Week 7 of the regular season. But nobody told the crowd that.
Lincoln and Westfield have met every October for 22 consecutive years. The series is tied 11-11. Both programs have won state titles in the last decade. Both entered Friday night at 6-0. The stakes, in other words, were as high as they get before November.
"We talk about this game in the offseason," said Lincoln head coach Marcus Webb, who is in his eighth year leading the Eagles. "The kids know what it means. You don't have to motivate them for this one."
Westfield struck first. Quarterback Devon Reyes — a three-year starter committed to a Division II program in the spring — found his tight end on a crossing route on the game's third play and watched him turn a five-yard gain into a 34-yard touchdown. The Westfield sideline erupted. The Lincoln student section responded with a wall of noise that shook the press box.
Lincoln answered before halftime. Running back Jaylen Moore, who had been held to 18 yards in the first quarter, broke two tackles on a second-and-eight draw play and sprinted 52 yards untouched to tie the game at seven. The equalizer came with 1:14 left in the second quarter, and both teams went to the locker room knotted.
The second half belonged to the defenses. Neither team crossed midfield in the third quarter. Westfield's offensive line, which had dominated early, began to show fatigue against Lincoln's relentless four-man rush. Reyes was sacked twice in the fourth quarter — once for a nine-yard loss that pushed Westfield out of field goal range.
The game ended 7-7 in regulation. In overtime, Lincoln won the coin toss, scored on its first possession, and held Westfield to a field goal attempt that sailed wide left. Final score: Lincoln 14, Westfield 10.
"We'll see them again," Reyes said after the game, helmet in hand, voice flat. "That's all I'll say." He was right. If both teams hold their seeds, they'll meet again in the regional semifinals in three weeks.