NORTHAMPTON — The Smith Vocational football team fell to Ludlow, 21-7, Thursday night in its season finale.
“We wanted to get this win for our seniors,” said first-year Smith Voke coach Tony Capua. “We came up a bit short, but I could not have been more proud of the way we came out, how we played with our number (of players), and just never truly giving up.”
The Lions struck on their first drive, capping off a 69-yard march as junior quarterback Justin DeBarge connected with junior running back Todd Holloway Jr. from 3 yards out. Freshman kicker Jaiden Giza-Bilodeau’s extra point gave Ludlow a 7-0 lead with 3 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
A back-and-forth end to the first quarter carried over to the second, with both teams trying to build on chances and take advantage of mistakes by their opponent.
Ludlow (2-7) doubled its lead with 12 seconds remaining in the half. Facing fourth-and-25 after losing 15 yards on sacks by juniors Jack O’Connell and Kenneth Rivera, DeBarge again connected with Holloway, this time from 30 yards to put the Lions up 14-0 after another successful kick by Giza-Bilodeau.
The second half continued much like the first. Ludlow senior Andrew Conchinha picked off Smith senior quarterback Jake Eraldi to give the Lions possession in the red zone. After switching from defensive back to receiver, Conchinha caught a 9-yard pass from DeBarge to make it 21-0 with a minute remaining in the quarter.
The Vikings (0-9) continued to fight in the final quarter, and after some initial troubles, found success on a 53-yard drive. Aided by a short pass to junior running back Parker Affhouser that turned into a 42-yard gain, a 23-yard pass by Eraldi bounced out of coverage and into the hands of senior receiver Spencer Davis, putting the Vikings on the board with 2:39 left.
An onside kick was recovered by the Lions, who ran down the clock to seal the victory.