AMHERST — Sophomore Brady Klaes ran for nearly 200 yards as the Amherst Regional football team legged out a 10-0 season-opening independent victory over Smith Vocational, Friday night.

“It feels great,” Klaes said. “People were doubting us, but we showed what we can do.”

Senior Taylor Alfaro Leiva scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter, and freshman Dane Coy added a late 24-yard field goal for the Hurricanes.

“We made a couple adjustments at halftime, but most of it was just trying to grind them down,” first-year Amherst head coach Jack Putala said. “We knew it was going to come. We were close all game we just weren’t quite sustaining blocks.”

Klaes had nearly twice as many carries as the rest of his teammates combined. He finished with 187 yards on 28 touches. Quarterback Travis Isabelle added 11 carries, while Alfaro Leiva (two carries) and Matthew Da Silva (three carries) helped Amherst amass 199 yards rushing.

“Our line played great,” Klaes said. “They allowed me to make plays, and I can’t thank them enough.”

The Hurricanes broke through in the third quarter. Following a three-and-out by the Vikings, Klaes’ first touch of the second half led to a 27-yard burst. Facing third-and-1 at the Smith Vocational 8, Isabelle pushed forward on a keeper for a first down. On the next play, Klaes went left, but Alfaro Leiva went right and won the race to the pylon.

“We have so many great players that can make plays,” Klaes said. “It was Taylor who made that play.”

Smith Vocational’s defense made plays.

In the second quarter, back-to-back sacks by Trenton Clark and Jayden Yon forced Amherst into a fourth-and-15 situation at their own 35. A bad snap led to Clark taking down Amherst’s punter, giving the Vikings possession at the 23. Amherst’s defense came through as Alfaro Leiva led a stop on third down. An incomplete pass on fourth and long gave the Hurricanes possession.

“That’s a testament to them,” Putala said. “Something went wrong, and they faced a little bit of adversity. They stepped right up. They didn’t blink. They made the plays and got the ball back.”

Down 7-0, Smith defensive back Caiden Fournier jumped a passing route on third down and nearly had the interception with room to run. Late in the fourth, Aiden Houle sacked Isabelle on third-and-1 at the 5. That forced Coy into kicking his first career field goal.

“The defensive effort tonight, I’m incredible proud of,” Smith Vocational coach Alex Subocz said. “We rotated in about 16-17 guys and every one of them gave 100 percent on every play.”

Leo Inoue and Peter Tanguay each had one interception for Amherst. The Hurricanes swarmed Smith Vocational and held the Vikings to 39 yards rushing on 24 carries.

“We preach 11 heads to the ball every single play,” said. “We flew around and did a great job. We swarmed the football and made the big tackles.”