SOUTH HADLEY — Even when the South Hadley football team made mistakes, it worked out for the better Friday night.
The Tigers had 12 defensive players on the field to start a series late in the second quarter. One player came off, then another. Now they didn’t have enough, but rather than call a timeout, the coaching staff let the play continue.
“We were up big and if a mistake happened, my thought was ‘OK, there were 10 guys out there, overcome adversity, and hopefully they’re not going to score on us,’” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said. “Luckily the boys did their job.”
With the ball of 39, Ludlow quarterback Cody Baker attempted a pass to midfield. South Hadley senior safety Owen Dawson got under it and intercepted the pass. With a head of steam, Dawson raced up the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown return.
“I was counting it up and I said, ‘Oh well, let’s play through it. Nothing we can do now,’” Dawson said. “Luckily I made a play on it and lived to see another day.”
Dawson added 124-yards rushing and two touchdowns on five carries as South Hadley cruised to its fifth straight win, 50-16 over Ludlow.
“We’re on a train now,” Dawson said. “We’re keeping it rolling.”
The Tigers (5-1, 3-0 Suburban North) committed several miscues (fumbled snaps, penalties) on their first two possessions. While they got away with it against Ludlow (0-5, 0-2), Couture knows it could cost them later in the season.
“We’ve had a tough season with getting started right away. We still got work to lock this in and go into the next two weeks with league, and get ready for playoffs, hopefully. You can’t make those mistakes traveling out east.”
Big plays highlighted South Hadley’s offensive explosion. Noah Marion had a 44-yard gain on the first series that ended with Dawson’s 24-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Burke Belsky had a 21-yard keeper to set up Marty Loughrey’s 4-yard score on Series 2.
Dawson had a 20-yard run and Belsky found Brady Currier for 17 yards on the four-play third series that Marion (four carries, 74 yards) capped with 10-yard scoring run. Marion followed that series when he scooped up a blocked punt inside the 5 and scored.
“My boy Ryan Poirier got that block,” Marion said. “I was running it to go block it and I saw it at my feet.”
Prior to his interception, Dawson raced for a 58-yard touchdown run. The 42-0 halftime lead allowed the backups to see the field in the second half. While freshman Noah Hambley has started at defensive back, he welcomed the opportunity to see the other side the field.
“When my name is called I know I’ll be out there,” Hambley said.
Hambley had eight carries for 72 yards and his first varsity touchdown. He opened the scoring drive with a 22-yard run, then added a 23-yard catch from freshman quarterback Ray Faginski on fourth-and-16 from Ludlow’s 48.
“It felt great,” Hambley said of his score.
South Hadley visits Chicopee (0-5, 0-2) next week.