PITTSFIELD — The last time Easthampton came to Wahconah Park, the Eagles were in a battle for the first half before host Pittsfield pulled away in the second half. Friday night, the Eagles returned, and the story was completely different.

Taconic’s Anthony Whiteley had a game-high 135-yards rushing on seven carries, and scored on touchdown runs of 33 and 28 yards, as the top-seeded Braves (8-1) routed No. 4 Easthampton, 58-6, in the Western Massachusetts Division 3 semifinal.

The Eagles (4-5) came into Wahconah Park riding a four-game winning streak.

“They’re a very good team, yeah,” Easthampton coach Matt Bean said. “Everyone’s known for years that this was going to be their year. They’re a good, strong team.”

Three weeks ago, Whiteley hurt his shoulder in a win over Wahconah.

Friday night, the Taconic senior made his return to the lineup a successful one.

“It feels great” to be back out there, said Whiteley. “Watching us play and get some big wins, now I’m happy to be back and part of this team.”

Whiteley and Jake Galliher (eight carries, 113 yards) each ran for more than 100 yards as the Braves outgained the Eagles 421 yards to 124.

“Offensively, we weren’t as crisp as I want to be in our passing game, so we’re going to clean that up,” said Taconic coach Jim Ziter, after quarterback Jake McNeice was 5 of 11 for 98 yards with a third-quarter, 30-yard touchdown pass to Devon Walker.

“Running the ball, we used every one of our backs that we have,” Ziter said. “That was my goal. I wanted to get all of them carries.”

The Braves advance to their second consecutive Western Mass. championship game. The Braves will play third-seeded Longmeadow, after the Lancers put a hurting on No. 2 Northampton 49-16. That game will be played Saturday at Holyoke High School. The time is to be determined.

Ten Taconic runners carried the ball in the game, helping the Braves move on to the championship game.

“Their aggressiveness on defense” gave Easthampton the most trouble, said Bean. “We scouted them. We watched film all week about how aggressive they were on defense.

“Our O-Line is young and we didn’t handle their pressure good.”