DALTON – Wahconah took its Senior Night to heart, giving no ground to Amherst, despite the Hurricanes best efforts. The Warriors scored 45 unanswered points to beat Amherst, 45-7, on Friday.
“We couldn’t get out of our own way,” Amherst head coach Vinny Guiel lamented. “It’s kinda been the trending topic here. Last week we played Northampton, similar things, like not executing. Effort-wise, we played well. At this moment, Wahconah’s a better team than us. And that’s nothing to be ashamed about cause Wahconah’s a powerhouse. I thought we played well, props to Wahconah.”
Wahconah’s defense gave Amherst fits all night. Dan Epe had 3.5 tackles for loss while Collins and Jacob Cooper had 1.5 TFLS, Payton Shippee and Shawn Peltier had one each. West Dews had a pass break-up and Colby Robb made up for a fumble with a 5-yard sack to end Amherst’s final drive. The Warriors held Amherst to 36 total yards of offense in the first half.
“That’s a damn good football team man, Wahconah’s a legitimate program in the state, they should be proud of the way they played,” said Guiel. “X’s and O’s stuff, we gotta figure it out, (Doug Collins) gave us problems all night. We couldn’t wash him down, we couldn’t do the right things to get him out of the way.”
Amherst’s special team’s unit was a bright spot for the visiting team. The offense routinely had solid field position to start drives thanks to kick returns. Punter Andrew Cruz had a stellar performance, booting the ball far and with plenty of hang time. None of his punts went for fewer than 35 yards and most of them bounced and tumbled, preventing a Wahconah return.
“He’s a legitimate punter, that kid can go kick at the college level, no problem,” said Guiel. “He played well, he was a shining spot. He and my long snapper, special teams played good.”
Sans quarterback Jameson Dion, who is out with an injury, the Hurricanes’ offense struggled to put together drives until late in the second half. Junior Ramsey, Matthew Hockman and Jensen Taylor ground out yards to help the Hurricanes avoid a shutout. With a touchdown drive highlighted by a 30-yard scamper from Taylor, Ramsey punched in a 2-yard score a few plays later.
Wahconah’s quarterback Lucas Pickard looked calm in the pocket and completed five straight passes and two scores before his first incompletion, finishing 11-for-14 for 165 yards. Seniors Doug Collins, Zander Walton and Jayden Speth had big games as well. Walton had two rushes for nine yards and an 8-yard touchdown reception. Collins racked up a touchdown and 73 rushing yards while Speth had seven rushing yards, two catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Penalties and mistakes, especially early on, set the tone for Amherst as the Hurricanes did themselves no favors against the Suburban League South leader. However, the team competed for 48 minutes and that’s not for nothing as Amherst grows and gets to test itself against state powers.
The Hurricanes drop to 2-4 and will be back at home next week against West Springfield (2-4).