SOUTH HADLEY – The PVIAC Class B Championship football game stood still in the third quarter.
The field was quiet as medical personnel tended to South Hadley linebacker Joe Quatacker, who lay motionless at the 10-yard line after tackling Springfield International Charter School running back Ashton Chambers.
Quatacker came around and gave his teammates a motivational jester before leaving in an ambulance. South Hadley then made all the noise down the stretch to pull away and win the championship, 22-0, on a rainy Thursday night.
“It feels great. We (just) played Lee and Rockland – two tough losses. It feels great to win again, being the Western Mass. Championship,” South Hadley senior Lincoln Belsky said. “We get a plaque in our school, and it feels awesome being able to walk past it every day and see that.”
The Tigers rallied for Quatacker.
“He went down and went unconscious. It’s an injury you don’t see happen a lot, especially in high school sports,” Belsky said. “Walking past that and seeing that was kind of scary, but we had to persevere. He’s one of our best linemen. We ended up winning and we did it for him.”
Youth and experience keyed the victory.
Sophomores Javier Rosado (blocked punt) and Alex Fitzgerald (interception) played heavy minutes for the first time and made key plays. Sophomore Noah Soderbaum became the first South Hadley quarterback in 14 years to surpass 1,000-yards passing in a season, while Belsky scored two touchdowns and rushed for a hard 82 yards on 16 carries.
“Joe’s a vital part of our offense and defense. He’s a great kid and these guys love him,” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said. “He’s a tough son of a gun. He didn’t want to get in that ambulance. He wanted to be on the sideline. I’m sure, hopefully, everything is going to be fine with him. Seeing these guys step up for Joe, that’s what we’re about – family. They know Joe wanted to finish the game.”
Fitzgerald, who was playing safety in place of an injured Noah Hambley, intercepted Bulldogs quarterback Jordan Nguyen on the first play following Quatacker’s injury.
“We knew he could do it,” Belsky said. “He came in, played football and got that pick.”
Six plays later, junior Anthony Bartusewich punched the ball in from the 1 for a 13-0 South Hadley lead.
Rosado gave the defense another lift when he took down Chambers for a 2-yard loss on the first play of the Bulldogs’ next possession. Brody Keller followed with a 5-yard tackle for a loss. Following a flag on SICS, Ryder Mayer sacked Nguyen to end the third and force a punt at the start the fourth quarter.
“I saw the ends were really packed in and I figured if no one is guarding the right tackle, he was going to come straight up and that just created a hole for me,” Rosado said of his play. “Since I’m tiny, I knew I could slither in.”
With SICS pinned in its end zone, Rosado rushed the kicker and blocked the punt. The Tigers just missed recovering it for a touchdown but settled for a safety and a 15-0 lead.
“There was nobody to the left of me and I figured I could use my speed to my advantage,” Rosado said. “I looked at the center and he hiked the ball back; I just ran in from there.”
Belsky capped the offensive avalanche. Following the safety, Belsky fielded the kickoff at the Tigers’ 40-yard line. With his head down he raced up the middle of the field, then cut to the sideline untouched for a 60-yard kickoff return.
“It was everybody’s touchdown,” Belsky said. “The blocking was great. It was a wide-open hole.”
The defense did the rest to keep the shutout, ending the game with a stop on fourth-and-goal at the 8.
South Hadley took a 7-0 lead on its opening possession. Belsky capped the 10-play, 44-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown.
Soderbaum connected with Keller on a 39-yard sideline play midway through the second to surpass the 1,000-yard mark. Soderbaum finished 7-of-9 for 92 yards.
