AGAWAM – The Northampton football team is state playoff bound. But where the Blue Devils are headed, and who they’re playing? Still mysteries.
The Blue Devils were the No. 9 seed in the most recent MIAA Division 4 Power Rankings, and after Friday night’s 26-19 victory over Div. 3 Agawam, ’Hamp has hopes for a top eight seed and a home game in next week’s Round of 16.
Northampton coach Joe Kocot expects a condensed week of preparation, to say the least. The MIAA won’t be releasing their final rankings until Monday, meaning not only will the Devils not know their state tournament opponent until at least then, but they also won’t know if they’re hosting a game at David Wright Stadium or perhaps traveling two hours to the east.
“As coaches, we dont know who we’re playing until such and such time, then we gotta contact that team through Hudl and try and request a tape exchange,” said Kocot after Friday’s win over the Brownies. “Then when we get the tape, everybodies in the boat. We usually break down tape Saturday and Sunday, Monday lift and sit with the kids with tape. Now we’ve just got to roll with it. But saying that, everybody’s gotta roll with it. We understand that.”
Northampton (6-2) certainly rolled with it in Friday’s win at Agawam. The Brownies marched down the field on their opening drive in just four plays to take a quick 7-0 lead, and also went into halftime with all the momentum after executing a wild Hail Mary pass from 45 yards away with no time remaining. Quarterback Griffen Levesque hit Vinny Wallace for the score, which deflected off another Agawam receiver’s fingertips and landed in Wallace’s mitts to give Agawam a 19-18 halftime advantage.
“I told the guys, that first offensive drive that Agawam had, right down our throats. And it was simple,” Kocot said. “It looked simple to them. We’ve had one or two leads all year, everything else has been a comeback. The kids persevered again. They’re very good at that. And they’re coachable, they listen. It’s nice to see.”
The Northampton defense didn’t allow another point the rest of the way. Instead, the Devils rolled with the punches by switching from a 40 defense to a 50, adding an additional nose tackle to help plug the run.
Memories were short after the long touchdown before halftime. Northampton retook the lead just four plays into the third quarter, putting the only points of the entire second half on the board in the process. Trevor Maslowski set up the score with a 45-yard kickoff return to midfield, and QB Ben Sledzieski dumped off a 41-yard screen pass to Marty Maslowski three players later to get the ball down to the Agawam 8. Sledzieski tossed his second touchdown of the night on the next play, hitting Trey Rios over the middle for the 8-yard score. The Devils ran a Philly Special on the two-point conversion, with Trevor Maslowski hitting Sledzieski to make it 26-19 with 9:48 remaining in the third.
Agawam (5-3) was able to get into Northampton territory on four occasions the rest of the way, but no possession reached the red zone as the Devils bent but didn’t break. They also received a big interception from Wesley Parent with 4:28 remaining in the fourth quarter to halt a drive.
The Brownies had one final chance for the potential tying score in the waning minutes, as Northampton’s Mykal Norris was stripped with the visitors looking to seal the deal at the Agawam 8 with 3:19 to play.
“Turnovers are bad, man,” Kocot said. “That shouldn’t have been. The way our offense was humming, that should’ve been at least another score.”
Agawam marched down the field to the tune of a 15-play drive, riding the arm and legs of Levesque to get to the Northampton 35. But with 38 seconds remaining and facing fourth down, Levesque’s pass fell incomplete and Northampton survived.
Sledzieski finished 6-for-13 for 83 yards through the air and two scores, both to Rios. The pair hooked up in the first quarter, completing a 9-yard TD toss that helped the Devils take an 8-7 lead with 6:01 left.
Agawam retook the lead 13-8 with a 4-yard touchdown run from Jermaine Norfleet, but the Northampton defense cut into that deficit late in the second quarter when Tyler Verdi hauled down Levesque for a sack in the end zone and a safety that pulled the visitors back within 13-10.
On the ensuing possession, Norris ripped off a 38-yard gainer and Northampton was back in business. Facing third-and-goal from the 1, Sledzieski was stuffed just short of the goal line but came right back and called his own number on fourth down. Faking a dive up the middle, he kept the ball and waltzed in around the outside on a bootleg. His two-point toss to Marty Maslowski made it 18-13 with just 57 seconds remaining. That set the stage for Agawam’s last-ditch Hail Mary.
Sledzieski led all rushers with 95 yards on 12 carries, while Norris went for 86 yards on 10 totes. Rios caught three passes for 18 yards and the two scores.