CHICOPEE — It certainly was not an ideal start for the Frontier Regional football team.
The Red Hawks lost three fumbles and trailed Chicopee after just four possessions at Szot Park.
Frontier coach Scott Dredge called timeout at one point during the stretch to let his team know how he felt. Senior running back Garrett Dredge has seen this side of his coach/dad before.
“I was animated too,” Garrett Dredge said. “It’s in the genes.”
Frontier responded with three unanswered touchdowns to rally for a 22-6 victory and stay unbeaten.
“We squeezed by,” Garrett Dredge said. “I think we got a little too comfortable with 4-0. I’d say, honestly, we turned it up in the second half and that’s what we needed to do.”
Chicopee (2-3) fell to 0-2 in the Intercounty South. Frontier (5-0) is 2-0 in the league.
“We know what we have to work on,” Frontier senior lineman Julian Adams said. “I think tonight highlighted a lot of our weaknesses that we are going to work on in practice this week to make into our strengths.”
The slow start could be attributed to a few things, complacency one of them. Frontier won its first four games by an average of 33 points.
“They had to figure out how to adjust to that (challenge) and they did,” Scott Dredge said. “At halftime they were challenged by us coaches, they came together, and they answered the call to fix it.”
Frontier answered Chicopee’s score to tie the game with 1 minute left before halftime. Garrett Dredge capped a nine-play 56-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown.
“We needed something to believe in; a little pride, a little hope,” Garrett Dredge said.
With momentum in their direction, the Red Hawks forced a three-and-out on Chicopee’s first drive of the third quarter. Facing third-and-4 at midfield, quarterback Konnor James found Brady Poreda open downfield for a 47-yard catch and run. One play later Garrett Dredge scored, then Jacoby Merrill added the conversion for a 14-6 lead.
“A lot of that can be attributed to our leadership,” Scott Dredge said of the rebound. “We have 11 seniors and a lot of veteran players here who have seen four seasons, they have seen success, they know how to talk to everyone and pull everyone together.”
Frontier’s defense got the ball right back. The Red Hawks stopped the Pacers on three straight negative plays. Garrett Dredge had a tackle on second down, while Max Hunter had the stop on third down.
“When Garrett gets a good play, it only motivates me to do better,” Adams said of the defense. “We get better off each other and once we roll, we keep going. It motivates me, it motivates my teammates to work for each other.”
The Red Hawks took over at midfield and four players later Garrett Dredge cut outside and outraced the Pacers secondary for a 37-yard touchdown with 2:10 left in the third. Adams added the conversion.
The defense held from there. The unit has allowed 7.6 points per game this year.
“They had to find their place again; take it personally and lock in,” Dredge said of the defense. “We’ve scored a lot of points this year, but our defense has been very good. We’re aggressive and we have good team speed.”
