NORTHAMPTON — In a hard-fought battle of winless teams Friday evening at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, the Vikings fell to Pathfinder 24-0 on their senior night.
“This one hurts,” said Smith Vocational coach Tony Capua. “It’s our last regular season game for our seniors, and we really wanted to try to go out and get this one for them. I felt like we were there and we just had a few mistakes that went against us.”
Pathfinder made a mark on the first play, when Andrew Roman ran in the opening kickoff from 65 yards. Roman, who serves as quarterback, running back, punter, and kicker, had his PAT blocked by the Vikings, as the Pioneers held a 6-0 lead with 10:42 left in the first quarter.
Smith Vocational made some gains on the ground during the quarter, mostly on the feet of senior running back Cam Van Buren and junior running back Dakota Blakesley, but struggles to convert on third down haunted the Vikings throughout the evening.
Meanwhile, the Pioneers had issues of their own with keeping possession, as Roman committed four fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Vikings. However, the defense helped keep the game in much of a stalemate throughout the half.
Pathfinder came out strong in the second half as Barry Goodreau picked off Jacob Erali on the first pass of the quarter, but the Pioneers were forced to punt after making minimal gains only a few plays later.
However, momentum shifted back in their favor as the punt bounced off the returner and was recovered by a pile of Pathfinder players at the Vikings 5-yard line. Three plays later Roman found junior receiver Anthony Oliveira in the end zone to make it 12-0.
Penalties hurt both teams throughout the game, and the sides had to be separated a couple times after plays due to altercations.
Pathfinder took full control in the fourth quarter after Vikings junior quarterback Isaiah Gauthier’s run on fourth down from their own 5-yard line fell short. Three plays later, the Pioneers found the end zone as Roman took it in from 4 yards. The PAT attempt by Roman was blocked as the Pioneers led 18-0 with 2:39 remaining.
A successful drive by Gauthier and receiver Cody Hanlon, who had a 20-yard reception, stopped short in the red zone. Attempting a pass to Hanlon, Gauthier instead was picked off by Goodreau, who returned it 95 yards to make it 24-0 with 1:16 remaining.
“The takeaway here is they didn’t give up,” said Capua. “The seniors, all the way through that started this program, they’ve gone through to lay the foundation for the rest of the program and I could not be more proud of them.”