ROCKLAND – With a 7-1 record entering Friday’s contest, you might not expect the Easthampton football team to play with a chip on their shoulder.
But that’s exactly how the Eagles have found success all season long, pushing aside comments that the team was too small, or too young, and showing up for each other during every practice and game.
Ultimately, the Eagles’ close-knight bond and strong passing attack weren’t enough to overcome a speedy Rockland team in the first round of the MIAA Division 6 state tournament. The No. 4 Bulldogs had a strong first quarter that carried them through the rest of the game, shutting out No. 13 Easthampton 27-0.
“We had a couple interceptions, a couple of fumbles. I don’t know if it was jitters or a long bus ride, but we started out really slow,” said Easthamtpon head coach Matt Bean. “(But) the mojo of this team is that they’re always there for each other, they’re always supportive of each other, they never give up. And they showed it again tonight.”
Easthampton received the ball first and had a strong first drive, with quarterback Shea Healy passing quickly and efficiently to his receivers, but the Eagles weren’t able to get into the end zone. After that wake up call, the Bulldogs’ powerful running offense got going, and their defense was able to take advantage of a couple of interceptions.
“I know running the ball against them was gonna be tough. Their linebackers are very, very quick,” Bean said 0f Rockland.
Ultimately, Easthampton wasn’t able to keep up with Rockport’s Lucas Leander, who scored the majority of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns. After a couple of untimely interceptions and a fumbled snap that led to a turnover, Rockland went into the half leading 21-0.
After regrouping, the Eagles were able to limit Rockland to just one touchdown in the final two quarters, and had a couple of close calls on offense that they just weren’t able to finish.
The Eagles were at the Rockland 2 with three seconds to go, running out the clock in a last-second attempt to break the shutout. Rockland’s defense was able to swat the final pass out of the air before it found a receiver in the end zone.
Though the state tournament loss isn’t easy, the Eagles said it’s not something that will keep his team down for long.
“This loss is going to be another chip on our shoulder, another reason to motivate us to play even harder and build our chemistry even stronger for the end of the year,” said senior Keith Cudworth. “I mean, this loss hurts, it does hurt, but it’s only fuel for the fire at this point.”
The team has more football to play despite their state tournament run being over. That still includes a game with rival Northampton on Thanksgiving, and the team has already turned their attention fully on that contest.
“We’ve got our Thanksgiving game against Northampton and that’s our playoff game right now,” said senior Luke Kraus. “We’re ready to finish off this season. We’re going undefeated and nobody’s scoring another touchdown on us, I can guarantee you that.”
Rockland will host No. 5 Winthrop, which blanked South Hadley 35-0 in another opening round game Friday, in the quarterfinal round of the Div. 6 tournament next week.