SOUTH HADLEY — It wasn’t the start the Northampton football team was looking for on Saturday against Belchertown.
The Blue Devils coughed the ball up on their first two possessions of the game, despite driving it into Orioles territory both times.
There was no give-up from Northampton however, as the club scored on its next four possessions of the first half to take a 28-8 lead into the break, ultimately paving the way to a 34-8 victory.
“We’re improving and as a coaching staff it’s great because that’s all you can ask for,” Blue Devils coach Joe Kocot said. “We’re building something here.”
It was a big punt return that set up Northampton’s first score of the game.
Belchertown was forced to punt from its own 6, and Blue Devil Trey Rios fielded the kick at the Orioles 35. He used his speed to take it all the way back to the Belchertown 3, where Trevor Maslowski powered it in on the next play to put Northampton up 7-0 with 4:02 to play in the first after Jonathan Marshall’s extra point.
“We practice special teams all the time,” Kocot said. “To see it work during game day, it looks good. We’re always tweaking it and now we have to make sure it stays just as good or better.”
The Blue Devils struck again with 28 seconds left in the quarter, as quarterback Benjamin Sledzieski hit Rios on a pop pass. Rios then broke a tackle before taking it 39 yards into the end zone to go up 14-0 with 28 seconds left in the first.
Belchertown quarterback Owen Sedlacek rallied his team back, blazing down the sideline for a 69-yard run to set Belchertown up inside the Northampton 10. Two plays later, Tyler Laramee went in untouched on a counter from seven yards out and convered the two-point try himself to cut the deficit to 14-8 with 10:58 to play in the half.
On the ensuing drive, Northampton played power football, running for seven and eight yards nearly every play before a 23-yard scamper by Brett Holden set it up at the 1. Dominic Badorini pushed his way in from a yard out to put the Blue Devils up 20-8 with 6:02 to go in the half.
Following a Belchertown punt, Northampton found itself facing a second-and-four from the Orioles 28 with just 11 seconds left before the half.
Sledzieski dropped back and tossed out a perfect pass to a streaking Marty Maslowski, with the ball dropping into his hands in stride in the end zone. Braeden Tudryn converted the two-point conversion to extend the Blue Devil lead to 28-8 at the break.
“What’s good is we called the play and the kids executed,” Kocot said. “Any score right before the half is great and any score against you right before the half is awful.”
Holden had the lone touchdown of the second half, running it in from 12 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter to put Northampton up, 34-8.
The Blue Devil defense was strong throughout, with Holden and other Northampton defenders blowing things up inside and getting in the backfield to halt the Belchertown run and pass game.
“Brett Holden is impossible to block,” Kocot said. “Teams think they know what to do when they see it on tape but he’s got the will, he’s got the motor and is the strongest and fastest kid on the team.”
The Orioles were held to just six first downs on offense, two in the first half and four in the second half.
“We came out and knew they were tough but we had confidence in our guys,” Northampton cornerback Ahmed Elfawai said. “Our defense played great to come out on top.”
A strong push up front, mixed with a stout defensive effort propelled Longmeadow past Amherst, 27-8, in a game played Saturday at East Longmeadow High School.
Longmeadow led 19-0 thanks to a trio of first-quarter touchdowns, including a 45-yard touchdown run from Wyatt Tallaksen.
While not the start the Hurricanes were hoping for, the visitors began to find the flow of the game in the second quarter. Penalties and missed opportunities prevented Amherst from crawling back before halftime, however.
“Penalties are drive killers,” Amherst coach Chris Ehorn said. “We scored in the second quarter on a sweep but there was holding, and we couldn’t overcome it. Something for us to work on.”
Longmeadow led 27-0 in the fourth quarter but the ’Canes were able to get on the board following an interception when Isa Castro McCauley hauled in an 11-yard touchdown catch. Nate Mills hit Jameson Dion for the two-point conversion to account for the 27-8 final.
“I’m very impressed with the defense forcing four turnovers and blocking a punt,” lauded Ehorn of his team’s improved performance after the opening quarter. “We just need to capitalize.”
Mills and Dion paced the overall attack for Amherst.
“Mills and Dion had some really good carries for us and played great on defense. We need to focus on ball security,” Ehorn said.
In what is traditionally a competitive matchup marked for Thanksgiving, a scorching hot start for visiting Smith Vocational and a persistent running game attack was too much for short-handed Franklin Tech Saturday night. The Vikings waltzed out of the Powertown with a 22-0 victory.
Surrounded by a partly cloudy sky and temperatures dancing around 60 degrees, this year’s edition of the newly created rivalry was nothing like football on Thanksgiving.
“We actually joked earlier in the week that this would be the warmest it will be when we play [Franklin Tech],” Vikings head coach Alex Subocz offered. “This feels like a really good rivalry starting up, and we’re excited to play them again in the fall so we can reclaim the trophy on Thanksgiving.”
Although the trophy may not have been involved in Saturday’s game, Smith Voke certainly played as if it was. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Vikings used a seven-play, 60-yard drive to cash in with starting tailback Jon Castro finding the end zone from 32 yards out. Quarterback Alex Martinez scored on the two-point conversion, and the Vikings jumped out to an early 8-0 lead.
Smith Voke decided to imple ment some trickery early in this one, as they executed the ensuing onside kick to perfection. After another seven-play drive, the Vikings were celebrating again. Martinez punched in a 3-yard score, and connected with Tanner Smith on the conversion to stretch the lead to 16-0.
The Vikings executed a late fourth quarter touchdown on a 25-yard scamper from Smith, ultimately bringing the score to 22-0.
Castro was the star of the show for the Vikings, finishing the game with a total of 112 yards along with a touchdown. Correia also added in 61 rushing yards of his own, while Smith and Kaidyn Dion-Carberry combined for 48 total yards – with Smith adding a score on the ground in the victory.
Hampshire 71, Gateway 20 – Maggie Rubeck scored 13 points, and 12 different Red Raiders registered points in a victory Friday night.
Hampshire led 45-15 at halftime. Liz Colon Garcia joined Rubeck in double figures with 11 points, while Gateway’s Peyton Bucko paced her side with 10 points.
Belchertown 43, Southwick 24 – Jordan Lanoue went for 19 points, including 12 in the second half, to lift the Orioles past Southwick in action Friday night.
Belchertown limited the Rams to no more than nine points in any quarter. Nine different Orioles scored points.
Interns Kristen McNamara and Garrett Cote contributed to this report.