Norwood's Jeff Putnam Leads Comeback Victory Over Wellesley

Norwood High School quarterback Jeff Putnam refused to let a brilliant individual performance go to waste.

Trailing late in the game, Putnam engineered a thrilling 71-yard fourth-quarter drive—highlighted by two crucial fourth-down conversions and four catches by Mike Giardi—culminating in a 10-yard game-winning touchdown pass to a diving Chris Grant with just 46 seconds remaining.

The clutch score propelled the Mustangs to a dramatic 22-15 comeback victory over Wellesley in Bay State League action yesterday.

“It was probably the biggest win in the three years I’ve been here,” said Norwood Coach Gus Giardi. “I thought our kids really dug down deep inside of themselves, and they made a coach pretty happy.”

Putnam and Giardi Lead the Air Attack

Putnam commanded the offense with precision, completing 18 of 30 passes for 273 yards with zero interceptions. His favorite target, Mike Giardi, hauled in seven receptions for 133 yards.

Wellesley Coach Andy Levin conceded that Norwood’s passing game was the deciding factor. “We couldn’t stop it. We couldn’t contain their quarterback in the pocket. We couldn’t get anything going on offense. They outplayed us, and they deserved to win.”

Although Norwood completely dominated the first half statistically, they managed just seven points. The Mustangs drove deep into Raiders territory three times in the opening two quarters but stalled out due penalties and a missed 25-yard field goal. Their lone first-half score came when Putnam executed a brilliant fake, rolled out, and launched a 59-yard strike to Mike Giardi.

Wellesley had struck first on its very first play from scrimmage when Mark Frisoli broke free for a 50-yard run, setting up a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chuck Martin to Frisoli to take an early 7-0 lead.

A Wild Fourth Quarter

Both teams saved their offensive fireworks for a frantic final period.

Norwood claimed its first lead of the game when Joe Gugliotta burst 31 yards over right tackle for a touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 14-7 edge with 8:19 left. Gugliotta finished as Norwood’s leading rusher with 57 yards on eight carries, while Mike Connolly added three catches for 48 yards. Captains Luke Carroll and Michael Johnson anchored the gritty Mustang defense.

Wellesley quickly answered when Mark Frisoli broke loose for a 24-yard touchdown run, narrowing the deficit to 14-13. The Raiders gambled on a two-point conversion and succeeded when quarterback Chuck Martin scrambled into the end zone, putting Wellesley ahead 15-14 with 3:14 remaining and setting the stage for Putnam’s game-winning heroics.

“We got a little passive after we got ahead,” Coach Giardi admitted, “but we made an excellent comeback.”

Game Scoring Summary

Wellesley: 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 — 15
Norwood: 0 | 7 | 0 | 15 — 22

Scoring Breakdown:

1st Quarter: W — Mark Frisoli 3 pass from Chuck Martin (Frisoli kick)
2nd Quarter: N — Mike Giardi 59 pass from Jeff Putnam (Chris Grant kick)
3rd Quarter: No scoring
4th Quarter: W — Mark Frisoli 24 run (Chuck Martin rush); N — Chris Grant 10 pass from Jeff Putnam (Tim Coyle rush); N — Joe Gugliotta 31 run (Chris Grant kick)

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger