AMHERST — As the temperature dropped during the Amherst-Taconic football game on Friday, the action ratcheted up.
Leading 25-24 in the fourth quarter, Hurricanes quarterback Jackson Bajnoci was picked off for the first time of the night with five minutes, 34 seconds showing on the clock.
The Thunder used a couple of big plays to reach Amherst’s red zone, however the hosts forced a turnover on downs with a goal-line stand with 1:49 left in regulation.
Just needing two first downs to seal the victory, the ‘Canes could only muster one as Taconic burned all three of its timeouts to prevent Amherst from running out the clock and eventually got the ball back with 19 seconds left around midfield.
The Thunder converted on a huge pass-catch combo down the right sideline with nine seconds left to set up shop inside the Hurricane’s red zone, however Amherst broke up Taconic’s end zone corner route play as time expired to hold on for the 25-24 victory.
“Bend but don’t break,” Hurricanes head coach Jack Putala said regarding his team’s defense. “I mean we had a huge goal-line stand, huge intereception in the red zone. Those are just game-changing, momentum-changing plays and when you’re in a dog fight like that, you have to make those plays to win a football game and we did tonight.”
Brady Klaes starred on offense for Amherst, rushing for two touchdowns, including a 57-yard trot right up the middle early in the third quarter.
“He ran hard tonight and did what he had to do for four quarters to help us to a win,” Putala said.
The Hurricanes put the first points on the board with a 31-yard field goal at 5:17 of the first quarter.
Taconic took an 8-3 lead before the first 12 minutes were through with a 3-yard reception score with 59 seconds remaining.
Klaes crashed into the end zone at 8:14 of the second quarter on a 9-yard rush as Amherst regained the lead at 11-8 after a successful 2-point conversion.
The Thunder continued the ping-ponging score with a 50-yard reception touchdown late in the first half to go back on top, 16-11, following a good 2-point try.
The ‘Canes captured the lead yet again on Klaes’ long rushing score that spanned more than half of the field. A failed 2-point try left the score 17-16 in Amherst’s favor at 8:18 of the third.
Before the hosts had any time to settle in, Taconic responded with another lengthy score on a rush up the left sideline at 7:25 of the third. The Thunder converted on the 2-point try to lead 24-17.
It wasn’t until late in the third that the Hurricanes retook the scoring advantage as Bajnoci punched in a 1-yard score on a keeper, before successfully completing the 2-point attempt, to lead 25-24 with 1:29 to go in the third.
Amherst’s Liam McKinnon snagged an interception as time expired in the third quarter to set the tone for a wild fourth quarter in the Suburban South showdown.
“I’m just proud of the guys for not packing it in at halftime,” Putala said. “We were down at half, facing some adversity, let up some big plays. We stressed specifically to not let up big plays, we did not have success with that. That being said, we knew we had to play four quarters of football. We came out in the second half and did what we had to do to grind out a win.”
Amherst (5-2) will travel to Chicopee Comp next week for its final game of the regular season.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Other Area Scores
Lee 52, South Hadley 6
Belchertown 34, Pathfinder 6
Northampton 56, Commerce 0
