H.S. football: South Hadley defense secures 8-6 win over Easthampton with late interception

SOUTH HADLEY – The South Hadley football team needed one more stop to secure the win, but Easthampton had the end zone in its sight.

Only 6 yards separated the Eagles from taking the lead with a minute left.

Eagles quarterback Patrick Larson dropped back to pass but was flushed from the pocket by lineman Adrian Garcia. Larson stepped up to throw under pressure as lineman Ryan O’Donnell leaned in for the hit.

The ball was intended for Luis Salgado, who cut back across the goal line, but Tigers cornerback Chase Pecia made sure it didn’t get there.

Pecia iced the 8-6 victory with the game-ending interception, Friday.

“We’re built for those situations,” South Hadley senior safety Noah Hambley said. “Chase iced it there. That proves who we are. To the final whistle we are going to play our best and play our hardest.”

South Hadley (7-1) bounced back from its lone loss of the season to move to 3-1 in the Suburban League.

“To play in a game like that and to show everybody that we can play through adversity, it’s huge,” Hambley said.

Defense shined in this league tilt.

Easthampton (6-2, 2-2) led 6-0 when the Tigers took the opening possession of the second half to the goal line. The drive stopped there as the Eagles held the Tigers on fourth down at the 1.

“That was pure passion,” Easthampton coach Tom Hogan said.

The Tigers answered defensively and forced a three-and-out. Joe Quatacker then blocked the punt and recovered it for South Hadley at the 8.

Two plays later quarterback Nolan Soderbaum hit senior Noah Hambley on a bubble screen and Hambley punched it in from 10 yards.

Soderbaum then connected with Pecia for the conversion pass and an 8-6 lead.

“I told my coach on the previous drive to get me the ball in space,” Hambley said. “I got it there and saw the corner biting; got a great block by Chase Pecia and I cut inside.”

Quatacker then recovered a fumbled handoff on the first play of the Eagles’ next possession. While the Tigers went three-and-out on that drive, the momentum changed.

“The blocked punt by Quatacker and Quatacker recovering it down there was huge,” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said. “To get that swing and get us to the decision to go for 2 was straight up.”

The fourth-down stop was one of five in the game by the Eagles. Three of those stops came inside the 15-yard line.

“It’s a credit to their coaches,” Couture said. “They do their film work like we do our film work, and being prepared for what we’re going to run at them.”

Easthampton took its lead with 5:19 left in the first. A 23-yard run by Larson set the Eagles up at the 2-yard line, where Salgado punched it in.

Late in the second quarter the Eagles faced third-and-9 at the 46 when Quatacker disrupted the 12-play drive with a 12-yard sack. The play forced a punt.

“They were definitely in fourth-down territory before that sack,” Couture said. “He really woke up today and helped us out.”

The Eagles took their last possession with 6:41 left in the fourth. Following a 5-yard sack by Garcia, Larson found tight end Raemon Mathurin for 26 yards to midfield. It was the first completion for Larson and gave life to the offense.

“That was a great play and Raemon made a terrific catch,” Hogan said. “That whole first half of the game we were kind of pinned on our side of the field so that finally gave us some breathing room to open the field up a little bit.”

On the 13-play, 64-yard drive, Larson completed five passes, including a 10-yard pass to Salgado on fourth-and-6 from the 32 to keep the drive alive.

Other Area Scores

Holyoke 27, Hoosac 8

Northampton 42, Chicopee 14

Chicopee Comp 12, Amherst 6