HOLYOKE — Holyoke’s rushing attack never took its foot off the gas as the Purple Knights amassed over 300 yards on the ground to capture a convincing 26-7 victory over Westfield on Friday night at the Roberts Sports Complex.
William Dumoulin rushed for 214 yards and two scores, while Dylan Lubold added another touchdown and 129 yards on the ground in the victory.
After allowing 34 points to Chicopee Comp a week ago, Holyoke head coach Joe Dutsar said his sole objective was to improve thigns on the defensive side of the ball entering Friday.
“We were very unhappy with last week’s performance,” said Dutsar. “We switched some of our coverages and added more men into the box this game to stop the run. We had a feeling that they were going to run the ball and they did early in the first quarter with some success.”
Westfield (1-2) was unable to hold up defensively against Holyoke’s backfield, and with star offensive linemen Aidan Stark and Kevin Jourdain returning to the field, the Bombers crumbled.
Dutsar said he was excited about the big win, even dancing with his players on the sideline after the game.
“Having those two guys back was amazing,” said the head coach. “Jourdain is going to play at Yale for a reason. He’s a great student and athlete. Stark, on the other hand, is there telling people in every situation where they are supposed to block or tackle. Having him is like having an extra coach on the field and that is such a luxury for any team.”
Stark was crucial to the Purple Knights’ success in the second half. Holyoke (2-1), which led just 8-0 at halftime, had the ball on Westfield’s 6-yard line and after a false start penalty, went backward four yards on a pass from Quinn Cauley. The half ended with Holyoke not scoring any points on the drive.
Stark proceeded to fire up his team at halftime. The vocal display worked for the junior, as Holyoke outscored Westfield 18-7 in the second half and the Purple Knights got a crucial fourth down stop on their own 11 to halt a key Westfield offensive drive.
Immediately after the turnover on downs, Lubold gashed Westfield for 77 yards and a touchdown, sealing the win.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” said Dutsar. “That really was the turning point. When that happened, that put the fire into the kids and at that point, they thought they could win the game.”
The win did come at a cost for Holyoke. Jourdain did go to the trainer’s table for an injury and Florencio Nieves left the game early. Jourdain would play the rest of the game but had to be carted off the field to the locker room. Hansel Breton also came off the field near the end of the game for the Purple Knights.
“Kevin reaggravated his foot,” said Dutsar. “Florencio has an AC joint sprain. He’s got a sling on just to keep the shoulder immobile and take some stress off of it. He’ll put some ice on it and we’ll re-evaluate this coming week.”