SOUTH HADLEY — Owen Dawson started his senior night in style, and the South Hadley football team never looked back.
Dawson returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown as part of his three-TD first quarter and the Tigers rolled to a 46-2 victory over Putnam on Friday night in their final regular season game of the year.
“I told coach they better not kick it to me, and they did,” Dawson said. “I ended up returning it all the way. I just wanted it. Thankfully the guys blocking got it done for me.”
With the win, South Hadley (7-1) – which is ranked No. 14 in Division 7 – is likely to hang on and make the state tournament for the first time under head coach Brian Couture.
“There are 40-plus teams in each division, and only 16 make it,” Dawson said. “And coming from a western Mass. school, we get the short end of the stick. But we come out here, we win games, and we earn ourselves a spot. That’s all we need. One spot. We don’t care if it’s one or 16, just give us a chance.”
Couture has preached to his team throughout the year to take a game-by-game approach. South Hadley dropped its first game of the season 28-16 to Wahconah, but has since won seven consecutive games – good enough for a playoff berth.
“It’s exciting for us. These guys bought in to our philosophy this year and have put in a lot of hard work,” Couture said. “It’s beautiful to see kids coming around and some of the younger guys coming around toward the end of the season here.”
Dawson wasn’t done after the first quarter. He finished his night with 160 rushing yards – giving him over 1,000 for the season – and four total touchdowns to cap off what has been an incredible campaign for the senior. His impressive night wasn’t limited to just the offensive side of the ball either. Dawson added several big hits and even came down with an interception in the first half.
“We play what we call iron-man football,” Dawson said. “We only have 40 or so guys on our whole roster, so guys are playing anywhere and everywhere. It’s just about setting a good example for the young guys, showing them that playing two-way, three-way football is important.”
South Hadley’s offensive line created sizable gaps for Dawson and the rest of the backfield to run through all game long. Led by senior Ryan Poirier, that unit up front has been the main reason why the Tigers have ran the ball so effectively in their eight games.
“They aren’t about themselves, and they aren’t about Owen or anyone,” Couture said of the offensive line. “They’re about the whole team. They get out there and block for everyone.”
Poirier is an extension of Couture and is quick to help out in the huddle whenever there’s confusion. Couture recognizes how rare it is to have someone as intelligent as Poirier at the high school level.
“He fires these guys up, and he knows every single position,” Couture said of Poirier. “It’s a hard offense to learn, so fortunately Poirier is there when these guys struggle a little bit. He knows everything, and that’s the beauty of having a kid like that who can step into any position.”
Alongside Dawson on offense is Julius Hebenth, Marty Loughrey (who had a 40-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter), quarterback Burke Belsky (who threw a 20-yard touchdown strike to Griffin Soderbaum), and Noah Marion. Each one of them is capable of making an impactful play every snap, which makes it a nightmare for opposing defenses to defend.
“Our offense starts with the line up front every single play,” Dawson said. “When they drive people back two, three yards, they create space for our play makers to do the rest.”
Friday marked the fourth straight game South Hadley has scored over 40 points. The Tigers offense seems to be clicking at the perfect time, as they are going to hit the road next week for the first round of the state tournament. Even facing a hostile crowd, that unit needs to bring their A-game to have a shot at knocking off next week’s opponent – likely a top-5 seed from out east.
“That’s key for us coming down the stretch, and they’re drinking the Kool-Aid,” Couture said. “Hopefully going into next week, we’re going to be on the road no matter what, so we need to be ready to go.”
It wasn’t all great for South Hadley, however. The Tigers turned the ball over twice and also surrendered a safety on top of a couple other fumbles they were fortunately able to recover. South Hadley committed several pre-snap penalties and struggled to bring down the Beavers ball carriers as well. Couture knows his team must clean those miscues up in a hurry.
“That’s not gonna fly next week,” Couture said of the turnovers and penalties. “Tackling too, that was bad tonight as well. We’ll clean that up next week.”
