LUDLOW — The Amherst Regional football team’s defense was the deciding factor Friday, as the Hurricanes defeated Ludlow 20-13.
Amherst’s defense solidified the win by stopping Ludlow on the 10-yard line on a fourth-and-1 situation with under a minute left in the game.
“They don’t have quit in them and that was nice to see,” Amherst coach Chris Ehron Jr. said. “Every week we want to see steps in the right direction and to get a stop on fourth-and-short where they converted two fourth-and-shorts earlier, to get that stop it just shows that they weren’t going to quit and give up. They didn’t care they were at the 10, they were going to make that stop anyways.”
Threatening on Amherst’s 10-yard line down by seven with 51 seconds left in regulation, the Lions (0-5, 0-2 Intercounty South) attempted a quarterback sneak to pick up the first down. The Hurricanes (2-3, 2-0 Intercounty South) stood strong to push the offensive line back while stopping junior quarterback Justin DeBarge from reaching the first down.
“That’s the situation and I think in my four years I’ve found myself in quite a few times,” said senior running back Will Budington. “That’s huge on the (defensive) line. We brought in our tank set and our four linemen. They got the push and they got the ball on the ground and did exactly what they needed to do.”
The run game for Amherst combined for the majority of the offense, totaling 162 yards and all three touchdowns.
“The offensive line did great tonight. I thought they had great push and they were giving our running backs time and (quarterback) Miles (Foerster) time,” said Ehorn. “There are still a few things to clean up on the offense and a few things to clean up on the defense, but we’re excited with the progress we’re making.”
Budington opened the scoring for the Hurricanes in the first quarter on a 10-yard run, completing the drive with a dive to hit the pylon.
“Coach trusted me to get the ball. I’m one of the fastest guys on the field,” said Budington. “I just have to use it to my advantage. I scored the touchdown, but plenty of guys did their job to make that happen.”
Amherst scored twice in the second quarter. First was junior running back Alexsander Fernandes, who scored from 1 yard out to give the Hurricanes a 12-7 lead. Amherst extended its lead to 20-7 as time expired at the end of the first half on a 13-yard rush by junior running back Isaiah Rodriguez.
Ludlow’s two touchdowns came via the Tod Holloway and Justin DeBarge connection. DeBarge found his fellow junior wide receiver in the end zone for two 9-yard passing touchdowns.
Amherst has won back-to-back games for the first time since the end of the 2014 season.
“It’s momentum. Right now this team has more optimism than I’ve ever seen it. We have two league wins and we really want to win this league. It says a lot,” said Budington.
Amherst plays at Mahar Regional on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
“What I’m seeing, the only team right now that I am afraid of is us making the mistakes,” said Ehorn. “As long as we’re doing what we need to do, things are working out great.”