Tonight’s Western Massachusetts Division IV-A Super Bowl pits the dynamic ground attack of top-seeded Turners Falls High School against the aerial assault of second-seeded Mount Greylock Regional High School.
Brace for a shootout.
Both teams come into tonight’s title tilt at Williams College in Williamstown at 6 p.m. without a blemish at 9-0 on the season. And playing in a WMass Super Bowl is nothing new for either team. The Indians had their string of three consecutive championship-game appearances snapped last season when they lost in the semifinals to McCann Tech. Prior to that, the Indians had gone 1-2 in Super Bowls, beating Mohawk Trail Regional High School in 2013 to advance to the state semifinals, and losing to Pathfinder Vocational High School (2012) and McCann Technical School (2014).
As for the Mounties, this season marked a return to the postseason after a two-year hiatus. The Mounties’ last playoff appearance was in 2013 when they lost to eventual champion Hoosac Valley in the semifinals. That ended an impressive three-year Super Bowl winning run by the Mounties, who defeated Athol High School in 2010, Lee High School in 2011, and Belchertown High School in 2012 to earn the three-peat.
So this is not foreign territory for either program, even though very few players have played in a championship game. One player who does remember his one shot at a championship is Turners Falls senior quarterback Tionne Brown, who started for the Indians in the 2014 Super Bowl loss to McCann, and he admitted that he would like to play much better this time around.
“My sophomore year, I kind of blew it in the championship game,” Brown said. “It wasn’t entirely my fault, but I did choke a little bit, so I definitely want to get (the title) back. We need it this year. We’ve been working too hard not to get it.”
Brown had a strong performance against Pioneer Valley Regional School in the semifinals when he completed 6 of 11 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. But it is rare for Turners Falls coach Chris Lapointe to call on his QB to put the ball in the air so frequently. Not because he doesn’t have faith in Brown, who has proven himself in three years with the team, but because the Indian ground game has been one of the best in the area this fall.
If you haven’t heard of Quinn Doyle by now you haven’t paid attention to area football for the past two seasons. The senior running back followed up last year’s 1,162-yard performance with an even better season this fall. Doyle comes into tonight’s game with 1,317 yards this season to lead area backs. Doyle has done all that despite playing hurt each of the past two weeks, which has kept him from eclipsing the 100-yard mark in a game both weeks. Jack Darling has stepped up recently and had two of the biggest games of his career in the past three weeks, and comes into the game with 534 yards on the season.
Last week did see the Indians struggle to move the ball on the ground, as Pioneer limited them to just 101 rushing yards. Lapointe said the Panthers defense did a nice job of getting off blocks. The Indians’ line and skill players will need to be at their best this week.
“We looked at the film from last week’s game and it wasn’t Pioneer’s physicality that hurt us, it was missed blocks and missed assignments,” he said. “We know we have to bring our A game, but the kids have had a great week of practice and they are ready to go.”
The Indians also showed the ability to go to the air on offense last week when quarterback Brown completed 6 of 11 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Brown is 25-for-55 on the season for 556 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, and he has a number of targets to throw to. Jack Darling and Ricky Craver both catch the ball well out of the backfield, while Nick Croteau and Owen Ortiz are the main targets out wide.
While Turners Falls has a passing attack that can get the job done when needed, Mt. Greylock is built to throw the ball. Sophomore quarterback Michael Wellspeak is playing in his first full season as a starter and already turning heads. The quarterback has completed 68-of-97 passes this season for an eye-popping 1,373 yards. He now has 26 touchdowns on the season and, most impressively, just one interception.
“He can certainly throw the ball well,” Lapointe said, “and has four good receivers, two that are really good. We need to limit the big play and play good assignment football.”
Sean McCormack is Greylock’s top receiver with 28 catches for 781 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Brandon Condon is the No. 2 guy on the team with 25 catches for 465 yards and nine scores. Cal Messina and Reilly Parker are also receiving threats.
Devin Pelletier is the lead back on a Mounties squad that does spread around the workload in the rushing department. Pelletier has rushed for 496 yards on 66 carries this season, while Wellspeak is second on the team with 55 carries for 330 yards. Cal Messina has 240 yards on 38 carries, and Taylor Cummings has 152 yards on 29 hauls. Storie had 389 yards on 41 hauls but broke his ankle and will be inactive
Lapointe said that Mt. Greylock plays a similar style to what his team saw when it played Woodstock (Conn.) High School earlier in the season. Turners Falls won that game, 44-40.
The WMass champion will move on to the state semifinals at Doyle Field in Leominster on Nov. 19 to take on the winner of the central Mass. title game between Maynard High School and St. Bernard’s High School.
The weekend started Thursday evening with Greenfield pounding Mohawk, 44-8, in one of five none-playoff assigned games.
Tonight at 7, Frontier hosts Hoosac Valley and Athol visits Pittsfield. On Saturday at 1, Franklin County Tech entertains Belchertown and Pioneer hosts Lee. Mahar drew a bye and is off until Thanksgiving Day.