BELCHERTOWN — Alex Fernandes led a balanced running attack that powered Amherst Regional to a 38-0 triumph over Belchertown Friday night.
Even though he scored a career-high four touchdowns, Fernandes was hardly alone in the Hurricanes talented backfield. Seven players took turns running the football for Amherst.
“Our line did a great job blocking,” Fernandes said. “This feels really good.”
Two of the most impressive runs by the Hurricanes came on second-quarter carries by Isaiah Rodriguez. He had tackle-breaking runs of 26 and 23 yards during a drive that set up a third touchdown run by Fernandes and help the Hurricanes take a 26-0 halftime lead.
After a tough opening loss to Northampton, Amherst got its offense in gear thanks in part to its strong running game and some sharp passing by J.B. Mills.
“We left too many points on the field against Northampton,” coach Chris Ehorn Jr. said. “The kids were angry and they really wanted to get that first win.”
The biggest play of the first half came on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Mills to Isaiah Moyston.
“This is a game we can build on,” Ehorn said. “We made a lot of big plays.”
Rodriguez made something out of nothing on his 26-yard second-quarter run. He was seemingly stopped for what would have been a short gain, but he was able to shed several tackles.
Rodriguez then reversed direction and sprinted right for his big gain. Two plays later, he ripped off a 23-yard gain before consecutive runs by Rodriguez of 20 and 5 yards provided Amherst with a commanding 26-0 lead at intermission.
“Alex is our guy, but if he is able to rest, he’s that much better later in the game,” Ehorn said. “Isaiah Rodriguez has great vision and he read the defense very well.”
Poor tackling hurt Belchertown (0-2) in its opening night loss to Ware. It was more of the same against Amherst.
“All I had to do was stay behind my linemen and make the right cuts,” Rodriguez said.
What hurt Belchertown the most was its inability to handle Amherst’s short kickoffs. The Hurricanes recovered two of them and while the others gave Belchertown excellent field position, the Orioles could not take advantage of it.
That was because of Amherst’s front seven, which did not allow the Orioles to run the ball.
“Our front seven played very well,” Ehorn said. “They rallied to the ball and came down field.”
A 33-yard run by Fernandes provided the Hurricanes with a 32-0 edge early in the third quarter.
“We worked hard in practice all week and we learned from our mistakes we made against Northampton,” Fernandes said.
Belchertown’s lone bright spot came when quarterback Cameron Otto, subbing for the injured John Flink, hit Ryan French with a 38-yard pass in the fourth quarter.
Amherst 38, Belchertown 0
|
Amherst |
14 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
—38 |
|
Belchertown |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
—0 |
First quarter
A-Alex Fernandes 9-yard run (Josh Vecchio run), 4:51
A-Isaiah Moyston 42 from J.B. Mills (run failed), 3:58
Second quarter
A-Fernandes 25 run (pass failed), 8:05
A-Fernandes 5 run (run failed), 1:21
Third quarter
A-Fernandes 33 run (run failed), 10:41
A-Isaiah Rodriguez 10 from Mills (pass failed), 5:03
Fourth quarter
No scoring
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Amherst–Fernandes 7-96, Vecchio 5-19, Mills 1-(-3), Rodriguez 3-50; Belchertown—Wyzik 8-(-5), Daskam 7-3, Lovett 15-39, Flink 3-(-12), Douillard 3-1.
PASSING—Amherst—J.B. Mills 5-7-101-0; Belchertown—Flink 4-7-31-0, Otto 2-6-43-0
RECEIVING—Amherst—Steele 1-16, Moyston 4-85; Belchertown: French 4-68, Daskam 1-1, Wyzik 1-5.