Are you confident in your knowledge of the hierarchy of Western Mass. football at this point in the 2019 season? Hate to break it to you, but your confidence is likely misguided.
It’s been one of the more bizarre years on the high school front as we cross the midway point. Just when you begin to trust a team, they let you down and vice versa. In short, there are very sure things, especially in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region where we’re slowly beginning to expect the unexpected.
That sentiment was perhaps best represented when a winless McCann Tech side came to the County and shut down previously undefeated Mohawk Trail, 12-0, in Week 5. The Warriors looked like a wagon up until that point, but a frisky pack of Hornets decided to throw a wrench into the Tri-County League championship race with a massive road win.
The Intercounty League North? Your guess is as good as mine. We think Frontier is the best team, and the Red Hawks are atop the standings at a perfect 3-0 in league play. But they’ve got their work cut out tonight with a road trip to play Greenfield. Veterans Field hasn’t always been kind to Frontier, and two years ago, with the Hawks expected to roll into town and breeze to victory, the host Green Wave clipped their wings with a wild overtime victory that changed the complexion of the 2017 IL North title race.
What kind of chaos are we in for tonight, when all six local squads are in action? Let’s dig in deeper, shall we?
No doubt, Frontier’s loss two years ago in this spot was a talking point in South Deerfield this week.
The Red Hawks (3-1 overall, 3-0 IL) have climbed the mountain, establishing themselves as the top team in the IL North as we enter Week 6. Every other team in the league has at least one loss, meaning Frontier controls its destiny — win out and win the league crown, again. After a bye week, the club should be well-rested and healed in preparation for a Greenfield team that has been bitten by the injury bug.
The Wave (2-2, 1-1) won their first IL North game a week ago, blanking Athol by a 34-0 margin on the road, and now they have an opportunity to put themselves in the middle of the title race with another win. Greenfield rode the work of its massive offensive line to the tune of over 300 yards on the ground. Shane Kilgour (139 yards) and Jared Hart (116 yards) both went over the century mark in the win, and quarterback Jake Sak only had to attempt one pass.
While Greenfield won the matchup two years ago at home in thrilling fashion, last year’s game was also a nail-biter. The Wave came charging back late from a 25-6 fourth-quarter deficit, recovering an onside kick in the fourth quarter to give themselves a shot at stealing another win. Frontier held firm however, claiming a 25-22 victory. Two close games in back-to-back years; what’s in store for Round 3 tonight?
A year ago, this one came down to the wire.
Both teams had chances in a tie game late in the fourth quarter, but Franklin Tech marched 92 yards in its final possession to score a touchdown and win the game, 16-8.
The Eagles (1-3, 1-1) suffered their first league loss in last week’s 26-6 defeat to Easthampton. Franklin Tech was held under 100 yards rushing as a team, and quarterback Owen Bashaw only managed to complete four of 25 pass attempts. Those numbers will have to improve this week, as Athol (0-4, 0-3) enters hungry for its first win of 2019 and is expecting the return of a couple key pieces to the lineup.
The Red Raiders have struggled mightily this fall, and they’ve been outscored in league games by a 106-12 margin through three IL North tilts. In last week’s loss to Greenfield, Athol managed just 41 yards on the ground. They’ve been shut out three times in four games. Keegan Lutz returned to the lineup a week ago and rushed for 25 yards on six carries.
Franklin Tech head coach Joe Gamache played at Athol.
Mahar (2-2, 1-1) looks to rebound after a 30-7 loss to Lee a week ago, and the Senators will do so against another Berkshire County foe tonight as Monument Mountain (2-2, 1-2) comes to the Woodward Complex for a key game with postseason implications.
Mahar sits at No. 6 in the Division 8 Power Ratings, while the Spartans are the current No. 5-rated side in Division 7. With both teams just on the outside looking in at their respective top four, a win tonight would go a long way in a potential tournament berth.
The Senators couldn’t get anything going on the ground last week against a stout Lee defense. Leading rusher Jacob Tenney, who was averaging over 100 yards per game before the loss, finished with nine carries for zero yards against the Wildcats. The team finished with negative rushing yards overall.
That’ll certainly need to change if the team wants to get over the .500 mark again, though Monument Mountain should not present as difficult of a defensive proposition. The Spartans have allowed over 30 points in losses to Franklin Tech and Frontier this season. Their two wins came against Athol and Drury.
What exactly happened last week?
The Warriors (3-1, 2-1 Tri-County League) played a home game in Turners Falls as part of the Booster Day festivities in the Powertown, but there was certainly no celebrating following a 12-0 loss to McCann Tech. A week after a dominant 49-0 drubbing of Pathfinder, the Warriors were held off the scoreboard completely by a winless Hornets team.
McCann Tech (1-3, 1-2) did a nice job limiting Mohawk Trail quarterback Shawn Davenport, limiting him to just six-of-19 passing for 38 yards.
To get back into the TCL title race, the Warriors are going to need a win at Legion Field in Palmer tonight against a team that came to Buckland and snagged a 29-20 victory a year ago. The Panthers (1-3, 1-2) got their first win of the season last week against Smith Voke, but they’ve been competitive in their three losses this season to Ware (34-28), Drury (20-6) and Quaboag (13-12).
In this week’s Power Ratings, Mohawk Trail fell to No. 5 in Division 8, behind No. 4 Lee by just one-tenth of a point.