SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley football team certainly didn’t disappoint on Senior Night.
The Tigers dismantled Putnam, 52-6, Friday night in a Suburban League North matchup. Each and every senior on South Hadley contributed in one way or another, allowing the hosts to pull ahead early in the game and leave the Beavers overwhelmed with constant offensive pressure.
“It’s senior night, so we had a lot of kids doing their thing for the last time on this field,” South Hadley head coach Scott Taylor said. “That was what we preached all week and it came into fruition tonight.”
All 10 seniors got the job done in Friday’s dominant performance. Two of them contributed multiple touchdowns as well. Seniors Evan Piquette and Colin Mailhott combined for a total of three touchdowns; two from Mailhott and one from Piquette.
One of those touchdowns from Mailhott was a 52-yard rushing score at the 7:30 minute mark in the second quarter to put the Tigers ahead, 30-0.
“It’s all to my line,” Mailhott said. “They create all the holes. All I do is run.”
Mailhott’s running was definitely on display Friday, especially when he caught sight of the open field through the middle of his offensive line for the long score.
After aggressive drives early in the game, there was no looking back. South Hadley running back Brock Fitzell ran for a 7-yard rushing touchdown at 3:30 in the first quarter. Shortly after that, Owen Dawson added another one to the scoreboard at the 2:10 mark making the score 16-0.
Mailhott joined the party for touchdown scorers in the second quarter, first with a 3-yard rushing touchdown and then with his monstrous 52-yard score that quickly followed.
The Tigers closed out the second half with two more touchdowns, putting themselves in a very comfortable position at 46-0. Piquette scored an 8-yard rushing touchdown and Dawson scored a 30-yard rushing touchdown after snaring an interception.
The scoreless drought for the Beavers came to an end in the fourth quarter. The Tigers turned the ball over to give Putnam its one touchdown of the night after a fumble recovery.
Nonetheless, the Tigers (3-4) pulled out a confident win to give them a chance to get back to .500 with one more regular season tilt remaining.
“We’ll jump on and get ready for Taconic tomorrow afternoon. Then if we can get to 4-4, we’ll see what happens in the playoffs,” Coach Taylor concluded.