SOUTH HADLEY — Owen Dawson and the South Hadley football team took control on the first possession and never let go Friday night.
Dawson took a handoff from quarterback Burke Belsky and pushed the pile forward across South Hadley’s 40-yard line. After fighting through a Taconic scrum, which included the umpire, Dawson broke outside and downfield for a 65-yard touchdown.
Dawson scored touchdowns on his next two touches as the lead ballooned to nearly three scores not even midway through the first quarter. The fast start was exactly what South Hadley needed as it rolled past the Thunder, 52-20.
“We’re emphasizing execution the entire week,” Dawson said. “We showed it tonight.”
The Tigers (4-1, 2-0 Suburban North) had their way through a 36-14 halftime lead. South Hadley rushed 21 times for 272 yards. Dawson had 138 of those yards on seven carries. He also had two catches on the only two passes Belsky attempted in the first half. The catches went for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Dawson finished with 158 yards on eight touches.
“Owen’s electric,” South Hadley junior Julius Hebenth said. “You can’t stop him.”
Hebenth had 66 yards on seven carries and a touchdown before halftime. He added a 9-yard rushing TD in the third quarter. Most of Hebenth’s yards came on cutbacks to elude the defense.
“It’s all in my lead blockers,” he said. “Wherever they are going I’m going the opposite way.”
Taconic came back with the help of South Hadley penalties. A personal foul on a kick return gave the Thunder (2-1, 1-1) possession at midfield trailing 20-0. Quarterback Damon Pause threw a 27-yard scoring strike to Giovanni Venerable to make it 20-8.
Hebenth scored his first touchdown on the next series, but Taconic took advantage of two personal foul penalties to cut the deficit to 28-14. The Tigers defense stiffened from there, and forced turnovers on the first four Taconic possessions of the second half.
“We had a little trouble in our secondary, letting the crosses come across the first, but quick adjustments at halftime, quick adjustments on the sideline and the boys figured it out,” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said.
The first turnover came in the red zone. Taconic faced fourth-and-2 at the Tigers 10, but the line got to Pause and forced a fumble. South Hadley senior Brady Currier scooped it up and returned it 80-plus yards for a touchdown. Back-to-back interceptions by senior Noah Marion and freshman Noah Hambley followed. The last turnover was a fumble recovery as Taconic faced first-and-goal at the 3.
“We’re not always perfect, but we are striving to be it,” Dawson said. “When you have multiple mistakes like that, it’s not easy to come back from, but we kept our heads high. We got punched in the mouth and we responded well.”
The win served as a bit of redemption for the Tigers, which lost 18-12 last season.
“We weren’t in the right mindset for that game,” Hebenth said. “We were all hungry for that team. We all wanted it.”
The Tigers honored the 1963 Suburban League champions at halftime. It was the 60th anniversary of that 8-0 season and was the first championship for the program. The Tigers outscored their opponents 238-12 that fall.
South Hadley hosts Ludlow at 7 p.m. next week.