SOUTH HADLEY – Everyone contributed for the South Hadley football team, Friday night.
Sophomore quarterback Nolan Soderbaum was nearly perfect, completing 11-of-13 passes for two touchdowns.
Senior Lincoln Belsky nearly rushed for 100 yards.
Senior Noah Hambley recovered two onside kicks.
Senior kicker Cooper Wall was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra points, in addition to his 25-yard field goal and two successful onside kicks.
Meanwhile, the defense allowed two first downs, one in each half.
What the Tigers cooked up was just too much for Chicopee Comp as South Hadley stayed perfect with a 38-0 victory.
It was the third straight shutout for the Tigers (3-0).
“It feels amazing,” Hambley said. “All around great game. All 35 of our guys are in it, even on the sidelines. We all have a purpose and we want to make that known.”
Soderbaum’s two first-half passing touchdowns were just a preview of the coming attractions. Wall’s second-half opening kick landed in open space along the sideline at the Colts’ 40. Hambley sprinted up the sideline and beat Belsky to the recovery.
Soderbaum’s 4-yard touchdown capped that South Hadley drive.
Wall then kicked it short again on the ensuing kick as Hambley recovered it. This time, Hambley capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
“It’s all on 34 right here,” Hambley said of Wall. “We have a great special teams coordinator, Coach (Charlie) Allard. He saw it; we believed it; and we did it.”
The Colts had yet to touch the football in the second half as they trailed 28-0 with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left.
“This is probably one of the tightest groups we’ve had of young men,” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said. “Noah doesn’t care if he gets 100 yards a game or 10 yards a game. Neither does Belsky, or Soderbaum, or (Chase) Pecia. They’re just happy at the end of the night when we walk away and there’s a win on the board. It’s a team effort for them.”
Wall added his field goal with 10:47 left in the fourth quarter. Junior back Charlie Maxwell capped the win with a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:25 left.
The Tigers scored on all four possessions in the second half.
South Hadley controlled the ball throughout behind a strong running game and Soderbaum’s efficiency. Belsky had 12 carries for 92 yards and two catches for 9 yards with a touchdown. Hambley added 80 yards on 10 touches. He had five catches for 37 yards. Soderbaum had 126 yards passing.
“He plays like a senior out there,” Hambley said of Soderbaum. “He’s throwing 35-yard screen passes and it’s right in the bucket. He takes after his brother Griffin (Class of 2026). They’re both dogs.”
Chicopee Comp (0-3) held the Tigers in check until South Hadley broke through early in the second quarter. The Tigers went 64 yards in seven plays to take the lead.
Soderbaum hit Belsky on a bubble pass and Belsky used outside blocks from Hambley and freshman Jacob Carrasquillo to score from 8 yards out.
Belsky had runs of 17 yards and 25 yards on the series, in addition to having three tackles on the prior defensive series in which the Colts went three-and-out.
“He’s a dog,” Hambley said of his classmate. “He gets tired during plays, but he doesn’t back down. He just goes 100 all day.”
Comp went three-and-out on its next series. A holding penalty on South Hadley set it back, but not for long.
On first-and-20 from 44, Soderbaum hit Pecia on a seam route for a 56-yard touchdown pass. Pecia had a step on Devynn Charles as Soderbaum made the deep downfield throw between Charles and safety Armani Gonzalez.
“He sees the field well and does a great job,” Couture said of his quarterback. “He’s a very knowledge young man. He knows our playbook very well.”
Other Area Scores
East Longmeadow 42, Amherst 0
