HOLYOKE – Dylan Lubold must have enjoyed his first visit to the end zone, because he kept coming back. The Holyoke junior running back scored four touchdowns – three in the first quarter – and the Purple Knights prevailed 51-0 over Putnam in season-opening action Thursday at Roberts Field.
“That’s my number one priority: get the ball, score,” Lubold said.
He broke the goal line for the first time on a nine-yard run with 5 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter that put the Purple Knights (1-0) up 14-0. Lubold made it 21-0 just 46 seconds later with a one-yard run after Holyoke recovered a Putnam fumble on the 1-yard line.
His third score came from four yards out with 2:04 left in the first. The Purple Knights led 33-0 after one. Putnam punted to start the second quarter, and Lubold ran the ball three times in six plays, scoring a two-yard touchdown that made it 39-0. He finished with 71 yards on 10 carries and four scores in 17 minutes of game time.
“He’s a great running back, great teammate, great captain,” Holyoke receiver Jael Cabrera said. “He knows how to lead a team. He’s just all around a great teammate and makes us better.”
Cabrera also found the end zone twice in the first half: once on offense and once on defense. On Holyoke’s first offensive possession, the wide receiver took a jet sweep handoff to the left and followed through a massive hole opened by a pulling Aidan Stark, the Purple Knights’ center, three yards to the end zone. It put Holyoke up 7-0 just 1:58 into the game.
He added a 50-yard interception return with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter, plucking the ball out of the air and outrunning everyone down the right sideline.
Touchdown: Jael Cabrera 3-yard run on the jet sweep. 7-0 Holyoke with 10:02 left 1Q. Personal foul on the extra point. Knights taking the yardage pic.twitter.com/lZRziA1D4X
— Kyle Grabowski👑 (@kylegrbwsk) September 9, 2021
“I knew I was scoring,” Cabrera said. “Every time I get the ball it’s a guarantee I’m going to score or do something with it.”
Holyoke’s second interception set up its final score of the first half. Adrix Madera picked off a pass in Putnam territory and returned it to the Beavers 34. After one incompletion, Holyoke quarterback Quinn Cauley found a wide-open Benjamin Santos for a 34-yard touchdown with 50 seconds remaining.
That score ensured the second half operated under a running clock. After starting the game scoring on its first six drives, Holyoke fumbled on its first possession of the fourth quarter.
Beavers running back Jaddan Williams ripped off a 35 yard run, but Putnam fumbled on the next play.
Holyoke running back Zephaniah Williams put a bow on the game in the final two minutes. Playing with the Purple Knights’ backup offense, he took an awkward pitch up the left sideline then made something out of nothing on a 28-yard touchdown run.
“The plan was to play really strong defense and jump on them early. We knew they were a little inexperienced,” Holyoke coach Joe Dutsar said. “We had a pretty crappy week of practice, to be honest, but the kids rebounded.”
The Purple Knights will next face Agawam at 7 p.m. Thursday on the road.
“They beat us back in Fall II, so we know what we have to do,” Cabrera said. “Agawam we have to play 10 times harder.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.