NORTHAMPTON – Heading into the annual Thanksgiving matchup between Northampton and Easthampton, injuries on both sides ensured plenty of opportunities for new rising stars to step up and make a big impact. Northampton quarterback Alex Rosen, filling in for the starter Ben Sledzieski, threw a 90-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter for the Blue Devils, and helped the offense muscle its way to a 16-8 win against the Eagles.
“I told him in the in the team huddle at the end of the game, I said, you’ll be hard pressed to go into the Northampton football archives and find a 90-yard TD pass,” Northampton head coach Joe Kocot said.
After last year’s Thanksgiving game didn’t happen, fans and players alike were happy to be back at a football game on Thanksgiving morning, but tempers flared on the sidelines and on the field as the game progressed. One of Northampton’s players took down an Easthampton player and got a personal foul called in the first quarter, one of Easthampton’s defensive players was ejected later for a punch and there were a number of flags thrown in the second half, including one on the Easthampton spectators, who made sure their voices were heard from the sidelines all game long. Eventually, the referees called both head coaches to the middle of the field in hopes they could settle some of the emotions before they boiled over.
“They told us to talk to our guys and have them knock it off,” Kocot said. “A lot of these guys played with each other in youth football and in other youth sports. So (it was just) stupid kid stuff.”
The Eagles struck first in the low-scoring affair. Easthampton received the opening kickoff and worked its their way up the field with quarterback Shea Healy directing from the pocket. BB Tauscher was a key part of that first run and ultimately scored the touchdown with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The Eagles went for the two-point conversion on the play, and Connor Mott caught the pass from Healy to put the home team up 8-0.
The Easthampton defense shut down the Blue Devils’ first drive, but the Eagles’ subsequent drive was shut down and they punted the ball back to Northampton. That was when Rosen struck for the 90-yard touchdown throw, connecting with Connor Tobin on a 30-yard throw with a wide-open field in front of him. Mykal Norris converted on the two-point try to knot things back up at 8, where the score remained until the half.
Northampton switched things up defensively after the first half, which was what enabled the Devils to get their second (and eventual game-winning) touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“We figured out pretty quickly they had to spy on our fast guy, (Norris). So when we threw the flat pass to him, poor guy was right there – boom. There’s good defensive coaching on the Eagles’ part,” Kocot said. “But, you know, we persevered as we have all year with all these injuries and bad situations and try to make the best.”
After a scoreless third quarter where tempers flared, a back-and-forth fourth quarter eventually led to Norris getting the go-ahead touchdown for Northampton on a short run on the left side. The Blue Devils went for their second two-point conversion of the contest and got it again on another pass from Rosen to Tobin.
Easthampton stuck it out all the way to the final whistle, nearly completing a 30-yard pass from Healy to Luke Kraus late, but the Eagles were unable to keep possession as the clock ticked down. Despite the outcome, Easthampton coach Matt Bean was proud of the way his team stuck with the larger Northampton squad, especially considering their last Thanksgiving game ended with them being shut out 20-0.
“We played them well this year. Some years, we struggle playing against them, but this was a good game,” Bean said. “It came down to a couple of plays.”
There will be a number of players returning for Easthampton next year, including junior Angel Moody, who stepped into a new spot at fullback for the Eagles. Though he’ll miss the seniors that will graduate, Bean is looking forward to the skilled players they have coming back for the rematch next season.
“We’ve got a lot a lot of talent returning. We’re gonna miss the seniors. This was a really great group leadership-wise,” Bean said. “They set an example, and they’re a terrific group of leaders. We’re gonna miss them, but we got a lot coming back next year.”
But until then, Northampton was content to go home and dig into a delicious Thanksgiving meal, made all the sweeter with the win.
“It’s huge (to get the win), and now I get to go home and have a nice big Thanksgiving dinner,” Rosen said. “It’s a good way to end the year.”