GREENFIELD — Dylan Castine, Mason Barrieau and Keegan Lutz did all they could to keep pace with Greenfield’s R.J. Byrd.
The Athol football team had a late lead against Greenfield, but a couple poorly played kickoffs and Byrd’s monster night gave the Green Wave a 44-36 win over the Red Raiders, Friday night.
Byrd finished with 39 carries for 347 yards and five touchdowns for Greenfield (5-2).
“Byrd had a great game but I thought our kids played well,” Athol coach Bill LaRose said. “In those games there shouldn’t be a winner or a loser. I thought all three of our backs ran the ball well tonight.”
Barrieau led the charge for Athol (2-5) with 17 carries for 196 yards and three touchdowns. After missing last week’s game, Castine rumbled for 126 yards on 13 carries.
Lutz rushed for 50 yards on eight carries for Athol.
Barrieau’s 3-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 10 seconds left gave the Red Raiders a 36-30.
Byrd’s 27-yard touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion made it 38-36 with 57 seconds left. The Red Raiders muffed the ensuing kickoff, giving the ball right back to Greenfield, which scored again.
Athol rushed for 372 yards, while Greenfield rushed for 368.
Both teams scored on their first possession of the game.
Greenfield quarterback Owen Phelps connected with Daniel Vega for a 7-yard touchdown with 7:11 left in the first quarter.
Castine finished a seven-play, 50-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown minutes later. The Red Raiders’ conversion failed making the score 8-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Athol took advantage of a Byrd fumble to take the lead. After Derek Erali’s fumble recovery, Castine rumbled his way into Greenfield’s secondary before turning on the speed to score on a 78-yard touchdown.
Caleb Cox’s 2-point conversion was completed to Joe Gray to give Athol a 14-8 lead.
Byrd immediately atoned for the fumble with a 6-yard touchdown followed by a conversion to give the Green Wave a 16-14 lead going into halftime.
Byrd and Barrieau traded two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Barrieau scored two more times, one from 43 yards out.
But Byrd had the final say in the fourth with rushing touchdowns of 38, 27 and 20 yards.
