After some lopsided independent games a week ago, we’re into the league portion of the regular season for many teams tonight. Thursday night’s Franklin Tech-Chicopee game aside, Week 3 features three Intercounty League North games featuring local teams, as well as the Tri-County League opener for the Mohawk Trail cooperative program.
For teams like Frontier and Greenfield, last week provided much-needed bounce-back victories after disappointing Week 1 defeats. Both teams handled their business against overmatched opponents, getting back to 1-1 on the young season. Can both teams continue that momentum with intriguing IL North showdowns tonight?
Mohawk Trail showed its mettle in a season-opening win over Franklin Tech. Now the Warriors begin their TCL slate with another home game against a team that handled them a year ago. Can the co-op keep it rolling and stay unbeaten?
Here’s a closer look at today’s four local games:
After opening the season with a disappointing 8-7 loss to Belchertown, Frontier rebounded with an impressive all-around performance a week ago. The Red Hawks went on the road and dismantled Monument Mountain, 33-0, in both teams’ IL North opener. As a result, the South Deerfield contingent sits alone as the only team with a league win entering this week’s tilts.
Not surprisingly, Frontier did its work on the ground against the Spartans. The team ran for 267 yards in the win, ripping off a healthy 8.1 yard per carry average in the process. Senior Ito McMillan was the team’s top rusher, going for a cool 132 yards on just 12 carries. He scored two touchdowns on the ground and added a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Josh Semaski nearly joined him in the 100-yard club, rushing for 92 yards on 13 carries and a pair of scores. Quarterback Garrett DeForest attempted just one pass in the win, completing a 13-yarder to Donovan Hoffman. If the Frontier ground attack is rolling, the Hawks are nearly impossible to slow down.
“It’s been upbeat all week at practice,” Red Hawks coach Don Gordon said. “I think we’re starting to get our identity. We’re getting there. We have our identity. We know what we do.”
Mahar got its season off to a winning start, picking up a 20-12 win over McCann Tech last week in a game the Senators never trailed. The club showcased a balanced offensive attack in the victory. Jake Tenney rushed for 96 yards and scored two touchdowns, and quarterback Noaha Chabot completed six of eight passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.
“Defensively, we ran to the ball,” Mahar coach Jim Woodward said of the opening win. “We didn’t tackle great but we had lot of people around the ball. Offensively made enough plays, connected on a few passes.”
Unfortunately, the Senators lost starting offensive tackles Jakob Carron and Colin Boyle to injury.
The Senators will need to have success both on the ground and through the air if they want to spring an upset on the road at Frontier.
“We will see,” Woodward said. “We will try to do some things. We have a few wrinkles up our sleeve.”
Gordon preached for his team to play fast all season long, and last week, those results showed on the field. Frontier knows it needs to be prepared for a different looking offense from Mahar tonight.
“They run misdirection, they like the waggle plays, they have some good receivers, quarterback can really throw the ball,” Gordon said of Mahar.
In last year’s meeting, Frontier ripped off a whopping 398 yards in a 41-18 victory in Orange. DeForest topped the 200-yard rushing mark in the win. Chabot threw two touchdowns to Charlie Barnes to help pace the Senators.
After failing to get on the scoreboard against Frontier last week, the Spartans will try their luck on the road tonight when they travel to O’Brien Field to play Athol.
Like Monument Mountain (1-1, 0-1), the Red Raiders also failed to score a point in a loss last week. On the road in an independent game at Quabbin Regional, Athol (0-1) dropped a 36-0 decision in its opener. The offensive attack was held in check, as the Raiders managed just five yards rushing and 25 yards of total offense in the loss.
Despite the defeat, Athol head coach Bill LaRose was positive afterward.
“Our kids played a varsity football team team tonight,” LaRose said following the loss. “They got beat soundly, but they never quit. I am proud of my guys. We have to get some guys healthy. We are going to be OK.”
The teams last met in 2016, when Athol cruised to a 34-0 win on its home field.
Historically, Greenfield and Easthampton have played some highly entertaining games over the years. There’s no reason to think that won’t continue tonight at White Brook Middle School, though both teams experienced very different results a week ago.
Let’s start with the visiting Green Wave (1-1), which open their IL North slate after splitting independent games to start 2019. After a 16-0 loss to Lee in Week 1, Greenfield got into the win column a week ago on the road at Smith Voke (29-6). The offense was much more successful the second time around. Sophomore Bobby Provost broke out for his first career 100-yard performance, mustering 125 yards on the ground on the strength of 22 carries. He scored a second-quarter touchdown, helping the Wave take a 15-0 halftime lead.
Quarterback Jake Sak and senior fullback Jared Hart also had strong games, helping Greenfield put up over 200 rushing yards against the Vikings. Hart iced the game with a pair of fourth-quarter rushing TDs. Defensively, the Wave held Smith Voke off the board until late.
Perennial contender Easthampton did not enjoy the same success last week in its opener. The Eagles dropped a 26-6 decision to Ware, despite outgaining the Indians. The team’s inability to finish drives proved to be the difference, as Easthampton took untimely sacks on offense to slow momentum. Running back Marcus O’Meally went for nearly 100 yards on the ground in the loss.
In last year’s meeting between the two sides, Greenfield rode the legs of RJ Byrd en route to a 36-14 victory at Vets Field. Easthampton held serve at home two years ago in a huge IL North game, taking a 40-28 win.
It was a successful start to the Mohawk Trail cooperative last week.
The Warriors came charging back at home against Franklin Tech, using a late Evan Shippee touchdown to capture a 15-12 independent win in their season opener at Pollard Field.
That 1-0 start feels good, and now a confident bunch of players open their Tri-County League slate this afternoon against Smith Voke right back in Buckland.
It’s a chance for Mohawk Trail to erase the memories of a disappointing 2018 performance against the Vikings. On the road in Northampton a year ago, the Warriors were soundly defeated, 39-14.
This is certainly not the same Mohawk Trail team however. Quarterback Shawn Davenport went over the 100-yard mark through the air last week, and also ran for a touchdown. The team was held down by a stingy Franklin Tech defense but still found a way to get the job done for the win. If the Warriors can handle their business in the league portion of the schedule, that opening victory could come in handy for postseason consideration and power rating.