The South Hadley football program is in uncharted territory.
When the Tigers last won a Western Massachusetts championship in 2010, there wasn’t a state-wide football tournament.
Now, South Hadley (8-2) is in the Division 7 state semifinals and is set to take on Leicester (10-0) at Shrewsbury High School on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“(Leicester is) just a really good team. They aren’t 10-0 by luck,” South Hadley coach Scott Taylor said. “They are very well coached. … We have to account for the run and passing game. Their defense is good as well. They’re senior-laden. Eighteen seniors is more than half our roster.”
South Hadley defeated Chicopee, 41-0, in the Western Massachusetts championship to earn a spot in the semifinals.
The Wolverines defeated reigning state champion Blackstone Valley Tech, 28-19, in the Central Mass. championship game to get to the semifinals.
With a trip to the state championship at Gillette Stadium on the line, the Tigers are just focused on playing their game.
“You can’t overthink these type of games,” Taylor said. “You have to do what got you there. We have to do what got us here better than we have ever done it and more aggressively.”
Leicester has the ability to run and throw the ball out of multiple offensive sets. The Wolverines can line up in a winged-t or I-formation, but the team can also spread the field wide with receivers.
The team is led in the receiving game by receiver Jack O’Neill, while Bryce Gosselin leads the run game. Gosselin carried the ball 21 times for 165 yards and a touchdown in Leicester’s win over Blackstone Valley Tech in the Central Mass. championship.
“They’re very well-schooled,” Taylor said. “Trying to shut down one part is too much. You have to be sound in all aspects.”
Taylor and the rest of the coaching staff have aimed this week to make sure the team is mentally ready on the defensive end of the ball to read and react to the different formations that the Wolverines use.
“Crowded minds equal slow feet,” Taylor said. “We are trying to make sure the recognition part is there.”
On offense, the Tigers are led by running back Hunter Carey. The senior rushed for 141 yards on 18 carries and scored four total touchdowns in the team’s sectional championship win over Chicopee.
On the defensive side of the ball, Leicester reminds Taylor of a Hampshire County team’s defense.
“(It) comes across to me kind of like Amherst’s,” Taylor said. “They’re fast, physical and fly to the ball. I don’t know if their defensive line is as big as Amherst’s, not a lot are, but they’re as physical as they are. It’ll come down to us following our rules and taking care of what we need to take care of; do what we do, try and negate what they do and hopefully our playmakers step up and make plays.”