TURNERS FALLS — The 11 seniors on the Mahar football team ended their high school careers on a high note Tuesday night.
The Senators put three touchdowns on the board in the first half and found the end zone three more times in the second half to earn a 38-6 victory over Franklin Tech.
Mahar closed out its season with a 2-2 record.
“It’s bittersweet,” Senators senior Jake Tenney said. “Just being able to play games has been huge for us this year. Having the opportunity to play with these guys has been special. Going out on a high note, you wouldn’t want to end it any other way.”
Tenney finished with 65 yards rushing and 31 yards receiving, finding the end zone three times. Two of his touchdown’s came on the ground and one on a pass from fellow senior Noaha Chabot.
It wasn’t just offense where Tenney made an impact, as he picked off a pair of passes in the second quarter.
“It was an all-around team effort tonight,” Tenney said. “Our line was huge. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. We had some guys step up today which was huge.”
After stopping the Eagles on fourth down, Tenney ran one in from 21 yards out to put Mahar up 6-0 with 8:42 to play in the first quarter.
A bobbled snap midway through the second quarter on a Tech punt set the Senators up at the Eagles 28. Five plays later, Mahar made them pay for it, with Tenney running it in from four yards out to extend the Senators lead to 12-0.
Tenney intercepted Owen Bashaw on the following possession, and Chabot connected with Aydan Sevigny for a 24-yard gain to set Mahar up at the Franklin Tech 6. Chabot kept it himself and barreled in for the score to put Mahar up 18-0 with 1:36 to go in the half.
The Senators struck on the first play of the second half to extend their lead to 24-0. Senior Eli Spencer took the opening kickoff 80 yards to the house, weaving his way through the kickoff coverage before putting his foot on the gas and breaking loose.
Facing a third-and-3 from the Eagles 14 with 5:59 to play in the third, Chabot hit Tenney on a wheel route for the score, putting Mahar ahead 30-0.
Jakob Murphy put the icing on the cake for the Senators in the fourth quarter, powering his way into the end zone from five yards out. Sevigny converted the two-point try — Mahar’s only successful conversion of the game — to go ahead 38-0.
There was no quit in the Eagles however, as they responded with their first scoring drive of the game.
Bashaw took a quarterback keeper himself, getting up the right sideline and breaking free for a 42-yard score with 4:14 to play.
“We battled hard,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “They’re a good team and made things tough for us.”
The Eagles had a chance to score midway through the first quarter, as Bashaw connected with Max Bastarache for a 25-yard pass before finding Dylan Demers for a 33-yard gainer down the left sideline.
Bashaw then found Noah Fuess for a seven-yard pickup to the Mahar 3, but a pair of incompletions at the goal line turned the ball over on downs.
With the abbreviated season wrapped up for the Senators, the large senior class hopes it left an impact on the program.
“Your main goal when you come into a program is to leave it better than where you found it,” Tenney said. “I hope we did that and inspired the younger guys to go out, recruit and come back stronger next year.”
The Eagles close out their season on Friday, as they’ll take to the road for a meeting with undefeated Greenfield at Vets Field. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.