ATHOL — It was a tale of two halves for the Athol football team Friday against Ware.
The Bears came out fired up on their senior night, taking it to the top team in the Intercounty League North. Athol held down the Ware offense during the first 24 minutes of action, forcing a turnover, a turnover on downs and a punt to keep Ware off the scoreboard. The Bears punched in a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead into the break.
That’s when Ware quarterback John Auchter took over the game. The senior ran in four touchdowns in the second half of play while also returning a fumble for a score on defense, propelling Ware to a 33-6 victory at O’Brien Field.
“We were gassed out in the second half,” Bears coach Josh Talbot said. “They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect – we just weren’t able to execute at the same level as we did in the first half. Our guys played with such high energy in the first half that the stoppage, you take a breath and it’s hard to get back to that level.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to get back to that level,” Talbot continued. “I’m proud of the way they battled for the whole game. That’s something we take out of here.”
Ware coach Mike Fazio credited Athol (1-6, 1-3) for being ready to play and giving his team a run for its money.
“We saw some things that we wanted to exploit late in the first half,” Fazio said. “We were able to do that and get a little momentum. Once things get rolling, we have an opportunity to go make plays. Athol had a great plan tonight. Their coach is awesome. They had a great scheme, their kids are tough and they’re well coached. We were lucky to hold on there.”
The Bears turned the ball over on downs on their first possession, but got the ball back after Anthony Lopez-Hippler picked off Auchter. Athol took over at the Ware 16 and six plays later, Sawyer Lefsyk crashed into the end zone from four yards out to put the Bears up, 6-0, with 11:16 to play in the second quarter. The Bears fumbled the extra point.
Neither offense was able to produce anything after that in the first half. Athol got the ball in the red zone after Aidan Melanson hooked up with Shea Brennan for a 19-yard completion, but it came as the halftime whistle sounded with Ware (6-1, 4-0) getting off the field without any more damage done.
Athol’s Aedan Erickson forced a fumble on Ware’s first possession of the first half that was recovered by Lucas Saisa, setting Athol up at the Ware 44. The Ware defense forced a punt, and Auchter went on to score touchdowns on the next four Ware offensive possessions to put the game away.
Auchter’s first score came with 6:19 to play in the third quarter, running up the middle for a 25-yard score to tie the game, 6-6. The Bears punted on their next possession and after taking over at the Athol 47, Auchter carried the ball the next seven plays, the last a 7-yard touchdown run with the extra point putting Ware ahead, 13-6, on the final play of the third quarter.
Athol was stopped on a fourth and one on its own 40 on its first drive of the fourth. Auchter then connected with Ethan Compton for a 25-yard gain and on the next play, Auchter ran a quarterback keeper in from 10 yards out, with the extra point putting Ware up, 20-6, with 8:18 to play.
Backed up at their own 10, the Bears ran the ball outside to Lefsyk. The sophomore was stripped and Auchter recovered, and he proceeded to bulldoze his way into the end zone for a fumble return touchdown, making the Ware lead 26-6 with 5:42 to play.
Ware recovered the ensuing onside kick and two plays later, Auchter dashed in for a 31-yard score to close out the Ware scoring.
Auchter finished with 160 yards on the ground on 18 carries, 124 of those yards coming in the second half of play.
“He doesn’t go down easy,” Talbot said of Auchter. “He rides his blockers really well and really long. Sometimes runners abandon their blockers and get tackled. He does a good job hanging on for a long time. There’s a 75 car pile up and he slips out of it. He’s a great athlete and a good football player. We made him work hard for a while but he had more in the tank than we did.”
Lefsyk finished with 52 yards on the ground for Athol while Melanson completed 11-of-16 passes for 69 yards.
Talbot said he feels the Bears are building in the right direction, with his young team just needing to gain some experience. Athol hopes to end its regular season on a high note next Friday, when it goes on the road to face Franklin Tech.
“We want to get to a point where we aren’t surprised that we’re competing against good football teams,” Talbot said. “We’re not; we’re just not there yet. We’re a little thin with injuries right now but I know it felt good for the seniors to get a little whiff of doing something really cool. We’re happy that we showed up and maximized our effort. We’re just bummed out we ran out of gas.”