AMHERST — The Amherst football team needed a touchdown to keep their undefeated season alive. There was no other option.
Trailing Wahconah by four points with 1 minute, 57 seconds remaining and the ball on its own 20-yard line, Amherst quarterback NeNe Fernandez – bum ankle and all – had nothing but fire in his eyes ready to march his team down the field.
Fernandez drove the Hurricanes down to the Warriors 15-yard line before Amherst stalled and faced a 4th-and-10. With the game on the line, Fernandez dropped back and zipped a pass over the middle to Jameson Dion right at the goal line. The ball tipped off Dion’s hands as he fell to the ground.
Before the ball hit the grass, it bounced off Dion’s back and hung in the air for a split second. Amherst wide receiver Raymond Colon slid in to pluck it out of mid-air and give the Hurricanes the lead with a miraculous touchdown.
Those heroics propelled Amherst to a wild 16-12 victory over Wahconah in a Thursday-night thriller at Community Field to remain undefeated at 4-0.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!
NeNe Fernandez with a dime over the middle that deflects off Jameson Dion’s back and into Raymond Colon’s hands for the go ahead TD!
On a 4th-and-10 play with 20 seconds left, the Hurricanes take a 16-12 lead! pic.twitter.com/5yfhqqa0NM
— Garrett Cote (@garrett_cote) September 29, 2023
“I seen the ball go up, I seen my teammate drop it, and I had to throw my all in there,” Colon said. “I had no idea I was gonna catch it. I just dove, it was in my hands… touchdown. I was just screaming. I was so happy.”
Fernandez said he couldn’t clearly see what the commotion was in the end zone from where he was standing, but when he saw the official signal touchdown, pure jubilation arose.
“I didn’t see it slip through his hands, but then I seen Raymond end up with the ball and I was going crazy after that,” Fernandez said.
From the sideline, Amherst head coach Vinnie Guiel didn’t know whether Dion or Colon ended up with possession. But similarly to Fernandez, once the referee’s arms went in the air, nothing else mattered.
“I thought Jameson caught it originally, then I saw Raymond get up with the ball,” Guiel said. “I was like ‘hey, I’ll take it.’ I don’t care who caught it.”
Thursday was the first time Fernandez had the chance to unleash his talents this season. During Amherst’s first three games, Fernandez attempted only two passes and had zero rushing attempts due to Dion’s dominance. He ended the night with 171 yards through the air, 61 rushing yards, and two touchdowns including the game-winner to Colon.
“I’m just showing people what I can do,” Fernandez said. “They think that all we’re gonna do is run, and we’re showing teams that we have the best backfield in western Mass.”
The Hurricanes needed to execute a perfect 2-minute drill in order to come out on top. And because they have worked on it nearly every day in practice, the scenario felt like second nature for Fernandez and the offense.
“Just going through the last drive, we go over that a lot in practice, so I wasn’t thinking much of it,” Fernandez said. “Just wanted to get progression, get us down the field and end up scoring.”
Amherst ran the spread offense for a chunk of the night, which veered away from its traditional double-wing, run-heavy offense. The Hurricanes had been preparing to use the spread, but Guiel kept it in his back pocket to showcase in important games like Thursday.
“It’s been weird, because we’ve been practicing the spread, but we didn’t wanna put it on film yet,” Guiel said. “They were a tough team, but we didn’t want Wahconah to prepare for it. The kids wanted to run the spread [earlier in the year], but we just wanted to wait for the right moment. They didn’t have an adjustment today. They weren’t prepared for it.”
Guiel was thrilled to have Fernandez, a Holyoke transfer, on the roster this season. To see him erupt in the team’s biggest game to date was a delightful feeling for the second-year head coach.
“NeNe played well man. He made the right reads, he adjusted when we needed him to adjust, he ran when we needed him to run,” Guiel said. “NeNe is a gifted athlete, and I’m proud of the way he played.”
Amherst’s starters had yet to play a full four quarters of football until the game against Wahconah. Several players dealt with cramps and were banged up, but continued to play – running on adrenaline. Fernandez, although visibly limping throughout the fourth quarter, wasn’t worried about his ankle.
“It was definitely adrenaline, I just had to keep pushing with my team and get this win,” Fernandez said.
Wahconah’s 12 points were the most a team has scored on the Amherst defense in 2023. But even with only allowing two touchdowns, that should be plenty of cushion for the Hurricanes offense.
“Our defense is playing great, we’ve got all 11 people flying to the ball,” Guiel said. “It’s a testament to the kids. Practice for the defense isn’t as fun as offense in terms of the drills, the tackling. But they’ve never once complained about it, and it’s showing.”
Amherst hasn’t been 4-0 since the team reached the state title game in 2019. Guiel recognized the importance of Thursday’s win against a tough Wahconah team.
“I’m so proud of my guys,” Guiel said. “Hats off to Wahconah, they played well. This is the biggest win we’ve had here in a long time.”
The Hurricanes (4-0) hit the road next Friday as they battle East Longmeadow at 7 p.m.
