LUDLOW — The Easthampton football team has put its 0-4 start in the rearview mirror and suddenly it finds itself in playoff contention.

Easthampton won its fourth straight game Friday night, a 34-20 triumph over winless Ludlow.

The Eagles are 4-4 and have every reason to believe they can capture a postseason berth.

The Eagles know they will likely need help in order to qualify, but they have recovered from a tough stretch of games that may have played a factor in them becoming a better football team.

“We’ve got young kids and we did get off to a rough start, but our goal was to get better every day,” Easthampton coach Matt Bean said. “We kept their spirits up and told them we were playing better teams, but that made us better.”

The Eagles won the Intercounty South at 4-0.

“We knew we were a good team,” running back Camden Kelly said. “We just had to put the pieces together and now we’re winning games.”

Easthampton scored in a variety of ways. The Eagles scored on a long kickoff return, an interception return, two runs and a pass that went for 1 yard.

“We just wanted to be solid,” Bean said. “We put it all together.”

Kelly set the tone by returning the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown 15 seconds into the game. Quarterback Max Weir ran in the conversion for an 8-0 lead.

“That was a game-changer,” Kelly said. “I got some great blocks and just followed them.”

Kelly was also busy in the backfield. He rushed for 53 yards on six carries.

“He’s been doing a lot for us,” Bean said. “He’s been big.”

The Eagles put together a drive on their next possession. Tyler Perrone capped the march with a 6-yard run to build a 15-0 lead.

Helems caught a 1-yard pass from Weir to raise the margin to 21-0 with 1:58 left in the second quarter.

It took the Eagles only 37 seconds to score again. Helems picked off a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.

“I saw the receiver go into the flat, so I tried to bump him, but he slipped,” Helems said. “No one was there, so I got the ball.”

Helems said league play is just what the Eagles needed.

“It was tough playing bigger schools,” he said. “We’re a lot more confident now.”

Ludlow got a spark late in the third quarter when freshman quarterback Carson Kowalski came off the bench and hit Todd Holloway with a 66-yard touchdown pass.

Kelly answered with a 14-yard touchdown run to raise the lead to 34-6.

T.J. Kibbe and Kowalski added touchdowns during the final quarter to make it a two-score game, but Easthampton held on.

“We’re feeling good,” Bean said. “Now we will see how the chips fall.”