EASTHAMPTON — On a dark, rain-filled night at Mountain View School that featured a soaking wet and slippery field, Hoosac Valley kept it simple: Feed Kadan Tatro the ball.
Against a good defense and on a night where both teams struggled with the snap and handoffs due to the rain, Tatro delivered. He carried the ball 25 times for a whopping 331 yards and three touchdowns at a mind-blowing 13.2 yards per carry. It was enough to power the Hoosac offense in a 28-12 Intercounty League South win over host Easthampton.
The win clinched an IL South title for the Hurricanes.
“I can’t even tell you how proud I am of the offensive line,” said a grinning Tatro. “Easthampton, good challenge. [Offensive line] they blocked perfectly today. I can’t even say anything else.”
Easthampton dropped to 4-3 overall with the loss.
“The kids were just not making tackles on [Tatro]. Second half we just made some adjustments and talked about the intensity and aggressiveness that they weren’t really showing in the first half. We pulled our linebackers up tighter,” said Easthampton head coach Kyle Dragon.
On the very first offensive play of the game, Tatro ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run.
“That’s always ideal to break it for a big touchdown,” Tatro said. “You always want to get the team going and that was the perfect way to.”
But Easthampton got a quick response. The ensuing kickoff was long but low and Topher Reardon caught it in stride and shot up the middle, slipping one tackle early and then going 75 yards almost untouched for a kick return touchdown to make it 6-6 just 29 seconds into the game.
“I have respect for him [Topher Reardon]. He ran super hard and I’m not going to say I underestimated him because I didn’t. But that’s a good running back right there,” Hoosac Valley HC Mike Bostwick said.
Hoosac made a quick change after that, squib kicking the ball on every ensuing kickoff. The Eagles made the mistake of kicking it to Tatro, however, and he picked up the ball around the 25-yard line and took off for a 58-yard return to set the ‘Canes up at the Easthampton 26-yard line.
Hoosac fed Tatro, working its way down to the 6-yard line. On fourth and inches, the Hurricanes went for it but a miscommunication on the snap allowed Easthampton to stop the run and force a turnover on downs.
Later in the frame, Kamarion Kastner punched it in from 1 yard out on a QB sneak. Will Hakes got the handoff on a jet sweep and carried a couple of defenders in with him for the conversion to make it 14-6.
The Eagles started off their ensuing possession well. Beginning at their own 45-yard line, Reardon ran for 10 and then another 17 to make it first and 10 at the Hoosac 23-yard line. But a fumbled snap backed it up to second and 13 and Logan O’Connell and Matt Witek came through to tackle Reardon for a loss.
After a few long drives, Hoosac went back to the big play. On the second play of the drive, Tatro went up the middle, broke an arm tackle and shot down the left sideline for a 77-yard run to make it 20-6.
A few plays into the Hurricanes next drive, Tatro got his hat trick, scoring on a 50-yard run. Another Hakes conversion made it 28-6.
The Eagles did get some points to start the third quarter. Reardon broke two tackles to make it third and manageable before Luke Johndrow’s jet sweep gave the home team a first down at their own 47-yard line. On the next play, Johndrow got the handoff, broke a tackle, took off down the left sideline and raced past the Hoosac defense for a 53-yard touchdown run that cut the margin to 28-12.
From there, Hoosac bled the clock when it was on offense and locked down on defense to prevent any other chance at a comeback.
Easthampton will face Commerce next Friday in a battle of the No. 24 (Eagles) and 25 seeds in the MIAA Division 7 power rankings.
“They got some good running backs this year. They’re hitting hard this year. Got a lot of seniors, too,” said Dragon.