SOUTH DEERFIELD — On the strength of a defensive shutout and the running effort of Josh Semaski, Frontier kept its postseason hopes alive behind an impressive 28-0 victory over Belchertown in an Intercounty League South contest Friday night.
The senior running back ran through the Orioles defense for 142 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns, while the Redhawk defense kept Belchertown out of the end zone with three fumble recoveries, an interception and forced several turnovers on downs.
Frontier head coach Scott Dredge said his team is in a good place heading into the stretch run of the season.
“I’m very happy with the way the kids are playing right now,” Dredge said. “We’re executing and we’re getting a lot of good production. Our defense looked great, so I’m happy.”
Frontier forced a punt on Belchertown’s first possession and immediately put Semaski to work. The senior carried the ball five out of eight plays and capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run.
Another Orioles turnover on downs set up a five-yard touchdown run on a counter by senior receiver Iain Spearance, which made it 12-0 at the end of the first quarter. Spearance finished the game with nine carries for 53 yards.
A fourth-down sack by senior defensive lineman John Semaski set up his twin brother for his second touchdown of the night. Josh Semaski ran through a defender and punched in a 14-yard touchdown as Frontier entered halftime with a 20-0 lead.
The Redhawks slammed the door on the Orioles as Semaski scored his third touchdown of the night on a 6-yard sprint to put Frontier up, 26-0. A mishandled Belchertown snap led to a safety for the final points of the game, making it 28-0.
“Frontier has always been a run-first team,” Dredge said. “Josh is built for it, he’s a tank. That’s our goal is to run, run, run.”
Despite the offensive and defensive success, Dredge said the team will need to “sharpen up” for the final regular season game next week. The Redhawks committed several personal fouls throughout the game, which Dredge said cannot happen if they want to come out victorious.
That final regular season game comes against Easthampton next week, and a Frontier win could shore up a spot in the MIAA Division 8 state tournament.
“Easthampton’s too good. They’re going to take advantage of our penalties,” Dredge said. “Blocking up front, we’re gonna work on. They were getting a lot of pressure on us up the A gap … we want to make sure we’re putting a stop to that.”
Belchertown returns home to take on Lee next week.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.