EAST LONGMEADOW – The Northampton football team had a reason to let out a Texas-sized “How ‘bout them Devils!” after the game Friday night.
The Blue Devils stayed one step ahead of East Longmeadow and answered every threat en route to a 38-28 Suburban League victory.
“All week we were talking about coming off the bus with fire, and that’s what we did,” Northampton senior quarterback Ben Sledzieski said. “That really contributed to our success today.”
Northampton (4-1), which was ranked No. 21 in the latest MIAA Division 4 Power Rankings, will almost certainly move up following its win over the previously unbeaten Spartans (No. 12, 5-1).
“Everyone had a sense of urgency. They knew this was the biggest game of the year,” senior Wesley Parent said. “This was the game we were going to show everyone who we really were.”
The Devils were in command for most of the game. The offense moved the ball on the ground (150 yards rushing) and through the air. Sledzieski led both efforts. He had 10 rushes for 75 yards and went 22 of 35 for 300 yards passing and five touchdowns.
Three of his touchdowns went to Parent (six catches, 60 yards), while Trey Rios (nine catches, 123 yards) and Chris Delano (two catches, 73 yards) each had a score.
“Wes, last year he was our starting center,” Sledzieski said. “He was in the gym all summer. He goes to our weight room at 6:30 in the morning. He works really hard and you can tell.”
The defense did its part, too, holding the Spartans’ offensive unit to 14 points. Marty Maslowski caused a fumble and recovered one. Sincere Martinez, Kelvin Perez and Caleb Steiniger each had a sack. Marcus Oquendo had a pass breakup on fourth down.
“I really like the bounce-back,” Northampton coach Joe Kocot said. “When they had a positive play, we bounced right back.”
Defense and special teams kept the Spartans close. East Longmeadow’s Nick Ferguson returned a fumble off a backward pass 47 yards early in the third quarter to pull the Spartans within 24-21. Preston Longo returned a kickoff 85 yards early in the fourth to cut the deficit to 38-28.
Northampton responded each time.
Following the turnover, Hamp marched 70 yards in 14 plays. The Devils had five first downs, while Sledzieski completed a 19-yard third-down pass to Perez, and a 21-yard touchdown pass on fourth and 13 through the fog to Parent. Parent caught the conversion for a 32-21 lead late in the third.
Longo’s kickoff return followed Parent’s 8-yard TD catch from Sledzieski, but the Blue Devils answered by controlling the clock and field position.
Tighter edit of Sledzieski to Parent on fourth and 13 for the TD pic.twitter.com/xZ69Y7x5zR
— Mike Moran (@MikeMoran777) October 15, 2022
Sledzieski hit Delano for 36 yards to put the ball at midfield. On the next play he found Rios for 28 yards to put Hamp on the 17. The drive stalled with 6:27 left, but Ryan Crowther picked off quarterback Shane Becker on second down to keep the ball in the red zone for the Blue Devils.
Northampton ran three minutes off the clock but lost a fumble at the goal line. Desperate to move the ball, Becker rolled out of the pocket on second and 10 from the 16 with two minutes left. Maslowski hit Becker and forced a fumble that Otis Roessler recovered for Hamp, sealing the win.
“Those two defensive tackles aren’t starters,” Kocot said of Quane Randall and Roessler. “Two were out so good for them, stepping up and playing. … They played hard.”
Sledzieski hit Parent from 9 yards out with 4:32 left in the first quarter for Hamp’s first score.
The Spartans took a 7-6 lead when Becker found Cole Johnson on fourth and 4 for a 22-yard touchdown.
Rios made it 12-7 with a 26-yard TD catch with 2:18 left in the second.
Northampton got the ball back with 1:02 left on its own 20. Seven plays later, Sledzieski evaded a rush and scampered to his left. He twisted his body around to make a 37-yard heave on the run to Delano in the front corner of the end zone with 6.4 seconds left for an 18-7 lead.
“I just threw it,” Sledzieski said. “I got hit right after so I didn’t see him catch it. I heard the crowd.”
Rios opened the third with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.