GREENFIELD — In rivalry games, it often comes down to players making plays.

On Friday at Vets Field, it was Greenfield’s Erik Martineau and Angel Politis who continuously stepped up against Frontier.

Martineau hauled in a pair of touchdowns and returned an interception to the house while Politis didn’t go down easy, rushing 20 times for 177 yards and a score to propel the Green Wave to a 30-6 victory over the Redhawks.

It was the first win of the season for Greenfield (1-2).

“This felt amazing,” Martineau said. “Home opener against our rival, there’s no better feeling than this. We came together as a team. The last two weeks were rough but tonight we really showed who we are.”

While the Redhawks (0-3) are yet to get in the win column, Frontier coach Scott Dredge said he’s seen progress from his group each time out.

“I can’t say enough about how hard these kids are working,” Dredge said. “I know they’re frustrated and 0-3 is not where I envisioned us being. With each week — looking at it on film — we’re getting better and better at putting stuff together. We really are.

“I thought we moved the ball well and passed well,” Dredge added. “We just gave up big plays that were crucial and we can’t recover from that stuff. Not many teams can. I’m looking forward to getting back to practice next week and trying to get a victory against Commerce.”

After a pair of losses to Chicopee and South Hadley to open the season, Greenfield coach Mike Kuchieski said he was pleased with the resolve of his group, knowing they would be in for a tough fight against Frontier.

“We didn’t know where we were going into this,” Kuchieski said. “We’ve scrimmaged and played tough independent games. Frontier is always a hard-nosed team and we knew we’d be in for a battle. We just had some athletes who made plays. That’s where we though we would be. It was a good team win.”

Greenfield got the ball to open the game and drove it down to the Redhawk 29 after a pair of big carries from Politis.

With the Frontier defense driving downhill to stop Politis, Green Wave quarterback Caleb Murray tucked it on play action, booted out to his left and found Martineau wide open for a 29-yard score. Murray found Krish Patel for the two-point try to give the Wave an 8-0 lead with 9:07 to play in the opening quarter.

The Greenfield defense turned it over on downs and with the Green Wave at the Frontier 35, Murray lofted a pass to the end zone but Redhawk Ben Caron was there to sky up and make an acrobatic interception, giving Frontier the ball at its own one.

Both teams traded punts, and facing a third-and-13 from their own 37, the Redhawks decided to get creative.

Garrett Dredge got the snap and tossed it back to Kaden James, who looked downfield to attempt the halfback pass. Martineau didn’t bite and was there to pick off the pass. He proceeded to use his speed to return it 45 yards in for the score, and after Murray found Martineau on the try, Greenfield held a 16-0 lead with 1:46 to go in the half.

“It was a little overthrown,” Martineau said. “I just jumped up and grabbed it. Our guys made a great block and I was able to get in.”

After a pair of punts to open the second half, Frontier — which moved the ball well all game — put together a drive that ended in the end zone.

Dredge and James were the catalysts to get it in the red zone before Brady Poreda ran it in from seven yards out off the right tackle, cutting the Wave lead to 16-6 with two seconds remaining in the third.

Politis took over in the fourth quarter.

On the ensuing Greenfield possession, Politis ripped off a 15-yard run and made another long run that was called back for a penalty. That didn’t matter, as the junior broke free for a 40-yard touchdown two plays later, breaking a pair of tackles before getting into the end zone to give the Green Wave a 22-6 lead with 10:22 to go in the game.

“I tried to go north and south just like coach [Kuchieski] taught me,” Politis said. “This is a big time confidence booster for us.”

Facing a fourth-and-nine from the Redhawk 18, Mason Cummings faked the handoff and lofted it to Martineau in the end zone. The senior skied up to make the catch for the score and Politis ran in the two-point try, putting Greenfield ahead, 30-6, with 2:57 to play.

“Angel had a whale of a game,” Kuchieski said. “He played hard. He’s a north-south kind of guy and I’m really proud of how he played tonight. Caleb [Murray] took care of the ball and Mason came in pinch hitting a bit. Erik was an athlete. Do all that and good things happen.”

Murray finished 2-for-3 for 37 yards through the air. Poreda ran hard to gain 54 yards on the ground while Dredge threw for 53 yards, 30 of which went to Collin West.