H.S. Roundup: South Hadley football routs Northampton in season opener

SOUTH HADLEY — Before his captains walked to midfield for the coin flip Friday evening, South Hadley football coach Brian Couture asked what they wanted to do if they won the toss. With it being the first game of the season, he wanted to let his players have some control in the decision-making process.

Worse case scenario, the Tigers defense would have to come out at midfield and make an early stop. With several key returners from last year, Couture trusted his squad to take the chance.

“They said, ‘Coach we want to onsides,'” Couture recalled. “So I said, ‘Alright, the ball is yours. Let’s do it. Let’s see where it goes.'”

His trust was rewarded as kicker Cooper Wall placed the football perfectly for the Tigers to recover the kick and gain the possession.

Almost immediately, South Hadley had the momentum in their favor. The team carried that energy for the entire game, beating Northampton for the second straight year, this time 47-0.

“We have had trouble starting the game slow. That really pumped us and got us ready to go,” senior captain Noah Hambley said.

Senior running back Lincoln Belsky got things rolling for the Tigers with rushing touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the first quarter. His second scored came on a 35-yard run through the middle of the field. After one quarter the Tigers were up 13-0.

Belsky ran efficiently, carrying the ball four times for 56 yards. He was not the only one in the backfield who made plays for the Tigers. Hambly and senior Chase Pecia each found the end zone twice as well.

To open the second quarter Hembly looked to have intercepted Northampton quarterback Dion Cadiz, only to have it erased due to a facemask penalty. He quickly got redemption on South Hadley’s next possession. He received a screen pass from sophomore quarterback Nolan Soderbaum and ran 37 yards for his first score of the season.

Pecia joined him in the scoring column on the following possession by taking the ball in the back field and swinging around to the left sideline. Pecia broke away from the Blue Devils defense and found himself a 32-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 25-0.

“They’re outstanding runners. None of them are afraid of the hit,” Couture said on his backfield players. “They’re not trying to avoid, they’re trying to go.”

Northampton managed to string together multiple first downs in the final minutes of the half, breaking through into South Hadley territory. That momentum came to a halt when Hambley intercepted Cadiz, this time with no flag to take it away.

“I knew I was coming up with it when the ball was in the air,” Hambley said. “I knew I had it and it was a great play.

Up 25-0 heading into the third quarter, South Hadley made quick work to reach 40. Sitting at midfield, Soderbaum made a short pass to Hambley who somehow evaded his defenders in the midfield and made another miss at the goal line for what turned into a 51-yard touchdown pass.

Active in both the passing game and run game, Hambley finished with 56 rushing yards and a team-high 80 receiving yards on four catches. Pecia followed suit with 43 yards on the ground and 31 receiving yards. His fourth and final catch came on a deep shot on a fourth down.

Running from the 30-yard line, Pecia went straight up the field and had a step on his defender. Taking the aggressive move, Soderbaum found his receiver in the end zone to go up 40-0.

“We have the athletes. We were all eating tonight. We’re all scoring and we played together,” Hambley said.

While his teammates made plenty of plays around him, Soderbaum finished with a solid stat line of 140 yards on 10-17 completions with three passing touchdowns.

It was a tough game for the Blue Devils, who lose their first game of the season after going 2-9 in 2025. Cadiz threw for 50 yards and completed 7-19 passes. Receiver Bradyn Rios made five catches

The Tigers head to Agawam next week, who they beat last year 16-6. Northampton looks to get its first win at home next week again Holyoke.

Field hockey

Amherst 0, Northampton 0 — The Hurricanes and Blue Devils played to a scoreless tie. Kayla Kim made 11 saves for Amherst while Northampton’s Abby Xu had a quiet night with 1 save.

Belchertown 6, Southwick 2 — Jocelyn McMahon had a big day for the Orioles, scoring four goals on the afternoon. Kian Roy had the two other goals for the team while racking up three assists.

Addi DiBona, Madeline Williams, Gianna Zenon contributed on offense with an assist each.

Lily Roy made seven saves in net for the now 2-0 Orioles.

Football

Belchertown 38, Quaboag 0 — The Orioles dominated Quaboag on both sides of the ball to open the season with a win.

Amherst 21, SICS 20 — The Hurricanes pulled out the one-point win in their season opener. Jackson Bajnoci completed 4-5 passes for 70 yards and tossed for two scors.

Golf

Hampshire 156, Northampton 177 — The Raiders won their third straight match to improve to 5-1 on the season. They took down the Blue Devils at Blandford Country Club

Brayden Fennessy shot a one-over-par 36 to lead all players. Cole Boissonneault also broke 40 with a final score of 38.

Aspen Murphy (40) and Max Sturdevantt (41) were the top two scorers for the Blue Devils.

Ludlow 159, Belchertown 171 — The Orioles fell to 3-2 after losing at Cold Spring Country Club.

Andrew Wright’s 39 led Belchertown while Luke Heroux was right behind him with a 40. William Mitus and Gavin Couchon both shot a 46 to score for the Orioles.

Boys soccer

South Hadley 1, Frontier 0 — South Hadley remains undefeated following a tight win over Frontier. Chris Sotirapoulus scored the lone goal off a pass from Spencer Parsons. Xzavies Rosario made eight saves in the shutout.

Granby 3, Smith Academy 0 — Granby shut out the Falcons on Friday. Rams goalie Gaje Carter made three saves in the win.

Conor Callery, Brandon Carillon, Sam Moure all scored for Granby. Carillon and Ralph El Aouji each tallied an assist.

Callan Payne was busy in net for Smith, having to make 10 saves in the game.

Pathfinder 3, Smith Vocational 2 — The Vikings fell to 0-2 after a close loss to Pathfinder. Jocob Maloney and Josh Cole both found the back of the net for Smith.

Hopkins 1, Athol 1 — The Golden Hawks were handed a gift Friday night. They managed to walk out of Athol with a tie despite not one of their players finding the back of the net. An Athol own goal allowed Hopkins to avoid the loss.

Hopkins goalie Matt Feltovic finished with four saves.

Girls soccer

Northampton 7, Chicopee Comp 0 — The Blue Devils picked up their third straight win in dominate fashion.

Lilah Sage and Hattie Lewis each scored two goals for Northampton. Malia Silver added a goal and two assists. Willow Claps and Millie Gaffney rounded out the big offensive day.

Anna Oravec needed to make only one save for the shutout.

Hampshire 6, Amherst 3 — It was busy first half as the Raiders scored four goals before halftime in their first win of the season.

Shayne Moynahan led the way with four goals while Addie Miklasiewicz supplied the rest of the team’s scoring with a pair of her own.

Maeve Fitzgerald, Chelah Schwartz, and Bea Eggameier all scored for the Hurricanes.

Karaghan Rogalski stopped four shots in net for Hampshire while her counterpart Mercey Pope was busy with eight saves.

Volleyball

South Hadley 3, Ware 0 — South Hadley made quick work by sweeping Ware on Friday.

Grace Matyszewski led the team with five kills, adding six digs and aces. Tali Quinn had seven aces.

Vivian Marion had a strong game on defense with 10 digs and two blocks.

Amherst 3, Agawam 1 — The Hurricanes won their second match up the season in four sets against the Brownies. After the first three sets were decided by six points for fewer, Amherst blew out Agawam 25-12 in the final set.

Late Thursday scores

Field hockey

West Springfield 3, Hampshire 1 — In their opening game of the season, the Raiders lost on the road to West Springfield.

Golf

Longmeadow 149, Northampton 179 — The Blue Devils continue to search for their first win after losing at Twin Hills Country Club.

Monson 178, South Hadley 184 — The Tigers lost a close match at Quaboag Country Club.

Ryley McMahon led South Hadley with a final score of 39. Richie Brown (44) and Grant Henderson (48) both broke 50 as well.

Carter Gouin also scored for the Tigers by shooting a 53.

Boys soccer

Hampshire 2, Wahconah 2 — In a tight battle against Wahconah, the Raiders picked up their first tie of the season, moving to 1-0-1.

Girls soccer

Easthampton 3, Holyoke 1 — The Eagles put on a strong showing on offense against the Knights, taking 13 shots in the game.

Noey Ryan scored the first goal of the game off an assist from Sophie Madsen. Madsen would get a goal of her own in the second half. Arieanna Kuchyt’s goal in the second half proved to be the game winner.

Kyra Lippman got the lone goal for Holyoke, assisted by Leilany Figueroa.

Mahar 7, Smith Academy 0 — The Falcons took a tough loss at Mahar, falling to 0-2 on the season.

Gateway 6, Commerce 1 — The Gators improved to 2-0 after a big win in Springfield.

South Hadley 1, Agawam 0 — The Tigers picked up their first win in a close matchup against Agawam.

Volleyball

SICS 3, Holyoke 0 — The Knights lost in straight sets to fall to 0-2.