ORANGE — Things were pretty dreary in the first half for the Mahar football team Friday night against Frontier Regional.
It didn’t get much better in the second half as the Senators lost, 41-18.
But there was a spark.
It came from backup quarterback Noaha Chabot, who went 7-for-12 for 106 yards and a couple touchdowns, both to wide receiver Charlie Barnes.
“I just heard my name yelled,” Chabot said. “I wasn’t expecting to go in but I just ran out there. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself a 7. Could have made better plays.”
Chabot also had a nifty 30-yard scramble for the Senators (0-4, 0-4 Intercounty North).
“He got his opportunity and ran with it,” Mahar coach Jim Woodward said.
Mahar starter Aydan Sevigny came out of the game early after hurting his knee.
Frontier’s running game was simply too much for the undersized Senators, as the Red Hawks rushed for 398 yards.
“We just try to balance the field,” Frontier assistant coach Scott Dredge said. “We have three kids we were rotating in, plus our fullback.”
Coach Don Gordon missed the game for Frontier due to an illness.
Garrett DeForest’s 19 carries for 202 yards led the charge for Frontier. Also racking up the rushing yards were Ito McMillian with 84 yards on eight carries and Josh Semaski with 63 yards, also on eight carries.
“Garrett’s our guy, our senior leader,” Dredge said. “But I am very impressed with our other guys too.”
The Senators muffed a kickoff, and had another hit an up-man; leading to two extra possessions for the Red Hawks, who led 27-0 at halftime.
McMillian added an interception for Frontier’s defense.
Chabot came off the bench for the Senators and led a third-quarter drive culminating in a 26-yard pass to Barnes.
Fullback Lucas Seney led Mahar with 12 carries for 65 yards and a 10-yard score. Jon Gariepy missed the game for Mahar with a shoulder injury.
On the last play of the game, Chabot connected with Barnes for a 35-yard touchdown.
Frontier started the game with a systematic 11-play drive all on the ground, punctuated by a 30-yard touchdown by DeForest.
The Senators fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Red Hawks (3-1, 2-0 Intercounty North) promptly scored from the 29-yard line.
Matt Hildreth connected with Kiernan Freeman for a touchdown after the turnover.
Alec Kirkendall and Semaski added rushing touchdowns in the second quarter of 15 and 10 yards, respectively, to give the Red Hawks a 27-0 lead going into halftime.
After Chabot’s third-quarter drive, the Red Hawks answered with two touchdowns. One on keeper for Matt Hildreth from 6 yards and another from DeForest, who took it down the sideline for a 62-yard score late in the fourth quarter.
