SOUTH HADLEY — Calling plays became simple quickly for the South Hadley football team against Hoosac Valley.
Run ‘jet’. Give it to Sean O’Grady. Repeat.
The Tigers senior running back totaled 208 yards on 13 carries in a 35-0 win Friday.
One play call accounted for most of the yards. O’Grady started on the left side of the formation and motioned right. Quarterback Ryan Mooney received the ball and handed it to O’Grady immediately after the snap. He followed a pulling guard outside and behind three receivers blocking downfield.
“We were just trying to switch things up a little bit,” O’Grady said. “New plays always keep them off guard.”
South Hadley (3-1, 1-0 Suburban North) opened the game by calling ‘jet’ in the steady rain. O’Grady gained 11 yards.
His second ‘jet’ carry three plays later covered 23 yards and brought the Tigers to the Hoosac Valley (1-2, 0-1 Suburban North) 18.
Two plays later he scored form 13 yards out with 6 minutes, 31 seconds to go in the first quarter.
“They work in tandem with the opposite side of the line,” South Hadley coach Scott Taylor said. “Tonight was just Sean’s night. That side of the defensive line was the one we decided to go after.”
As has become a regularity for the Tigers, though, they could turn to multiple running backs to gain yardage.
Teddy Doyle accounted for 109 on the ground and put a bow on the scoring with a 23-yard TD to go up 35-0 with 2:33 to go.
He carried the ball three times in a row to finish that drive.
“When you have Teddy, who can take care of it up the middle, that’s what we’re looking for,” Taylor said.
The Tigers’ defensive execution matched their offensive prowess.
They didn’t allow a point for the second time this season, following a 54-0 victory over Ludlow in their opener.
Doyle scored South Hadley’s second touchdown when he recovered a fumble in the end zone on the Hurricanes’ first offensive possession.
Hoosac Valley snapped the ball over quarterback Nicholas Waterman’s head, and Doyle pulled the ball up in a crowd of Tigers.
Hoosac came closest to scoring on its first drive of the second quarter.
Steve Stojda carried the ball 52 yards to the South Hadley 3 to start the second quarter.
The Hurricanes only gained one more yard on a Branden Ellsworth (nine carries, 17 yards) run before he was stopped for no gain on two consecutive plays.
South Hadley capped its following drive with a 3-yard run by Jason Fernandes to go up 28-0.
“We set up our defense for that all week,” O’Grady said. “We’ve been trying to keep our defense strong in the red zone.”
The victory guarantees South Hadley at least a share of the Suburban North lead after the first week of conference play.
Wahconah beat Pittsfield to also go to 1-0. The Tigers travel to Wahconah next week.
Kyle Grabowski can be readhed at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.
