SOUTH HADLEY — It took one play for the Belchertown defense to make its mark against Ludlow on Saturday.
The Orioles forced and recovered a fumble on the first play of the game, setting the tone the rest of the way as they didn’t allow the Lions to put points on the board, forced three fumbles and picked off two passes en route to a 22-0 shutout in action played on the turf at South Hadley High School.
“Everybody contributed today,” Belchertown coach Ed Wyzik said. “Last week [in our opener] everyone was winded, we had a hard time. They grasped their assignments this week, they started to play a little better. We’re still making mistakes but we’re moving forward. This is a good win.”
The Orioles offense struggled for much of the first half, but found themselves in the red zone in the closing minute of the first half with both teams scoreless.
Following an incompletion on second down, Belchertown faced a third-and-six from the Ludlow 11 but just 4.7 seconds showed on the clock. It was enough time for one final shot at the end zone.
Orioles quarterback Owen Sedlacek rolled to his right and when he didn’t find an open receiver, tucked the ball and beat the Lions defense to the pylon, putting his team up 8-0 with no time left on the first half clock after the two-point conversion from Samuel Winston.
“Owen played great today,” Wyzik said. “That play was a game-changer. We told him you can’t just sit there and wait for someone to be open, you have to take it. We talked and said if it ain’t open, take it and go. He did that, he’s got speed, he’s got power. All quarterbacks want to throw the ball but he’s a threat. He can throw the ball and run the ball. His running today was a huge asset for us.”
Belchertown struck again following a fumble recovery midway through the third quarter, with Jaden Wise taking a toss to the left and running it 56 yards to the house. Another two-point conversion from Winston put the Orioles up 16-0 with three minutes to play in the third quarter.
With 31 seconds to go, Sedlacek took a quarterback sneak up the middle, somehow remained upright, and when he emerged from a slew of bodies found nothing but green turf in front of him as he dashed in for a 39-yard touchdown run.
Winston and Tyler Laramee had interceptions for Belchertown in the game, Winston’s coming in the second quarter and Laramee’s in the final seconds of the game.
Wyzik credited the five turnovers — two fumble recoveries in the first half and one in the second half — to adjustments made following last week’s season-opening loss to Ware.
“We turned the defense around from last week,” Wyzik said. “Kids didn’t know what they were doing last game. We made some moves and adjustments where it’s a lot easier on kids and it worked. We brought some pressure and kids are stepping up and doing their jobs.”
Northampton 35, Pathfinder 0 – The second game of the doubleheader at South Hadley High School on Saturday also featured a shutout, as Northampton scored five touchdowns in the first half to come away with a 35-0 win over Pathfinder.
The game was called at halftime as the Pioneers had just 13 available players.
“It was good but we’re still nowhere near where we need to be,” Blue Devils coach Joe Kocot said. “We blocked better, we tackled better. The coaches did a great job coaching up what we do offensively and defensively schematic-wise, and the kids did what we asked them to do. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Northampton took the opening drive of the game 85 yards down the field and into the end zone, with running back Brett Holden ripping off a 23-yard run for the score to make it 7-0.
With 2:26 to play in the first quarter, Blue Devil Tyler Verdi plucked a Pathfinder fumble out of the air and took it back 50 yards to the house to make it a 14-0 game.
Northampton came up with a turnover on the ensuing possession, this one an interception by Trevor Maslowski. Like Verdi, he wasn’t just satisfied getting the turnover, as he weaved through traffic and took it in for a score to put the Blue Devils up 21-0.
With 5:40 to play in the half, Benjamin Sledzieski dumped a screen off to Holden, who scored from 21 yards out to make the score 28-0.
The final Northampton score came with 2:52 in the second quarter, as the squad was set up on the Pioneers’ 6 following a bad snap on a punt. Dominic Badorini made them pay for it, taking it in from six yards out on the next play.
Jonathan Marshall made all five of his extra point attempts.
Kocot credited the strong play with getting healthier on the line of scrimmage, as well as the work the players have put in at practice.
“We got two starters back on the line,” Kocot said. “You could see the difference at practice. Our lifting is really showing in the hits and tackling and blocking.”
Frontier 14, FC Tech 6 – Trailing 6-0 in the fourth quarter, host Frontier Regional rose to the occasion when the stakes were on the line Saturday.
Quarterback Jake Dodge rushed for two touchdowns in the final period, and the Red Hawks defense came up big down the stretch to secure a 14-6 victory over Franklin Tech in season-opening high school football action in South Deerfield.
Dodge tied the game on a broken play with 7:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, as the Frontier signal caller ran to his left and then went all the way back across the field for a 20-yard touchdown to make it a 6-6 game.
He gave Frontier its first lead of the afternoon with 3:35 remaining, scampering in on a keeper from 16 yards out. Josh Semaski’s two-point conversion run made it a 14-6 advantage.
Franklin Tech got the ball into Frontier territory on its final possession with a chance to tie the game and force overtime, but QB Owen Bashaw’s fourth down heave was intercepted with nine seconds remaining to seal the deal.
The Eagles scored the only points of the first half, when Bashaw hooked up with a wide open Gabe Tomasi for a 69-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Tomasi caught the ball in stride and went to the house, giving Tech a 6-0 lead. It would stay that way until Dodge tied it in the fourth quarter.