TURNERS FALLS — There was no chance Dylan Mailloux was missing his final Thanksgiving Day showdown.
One week after not being able to play due to a nagging ankle injury in the State Small Schools Vocational Tournament loss to Blue Hills Regional Technical School, the Franklin County Technical School senior tailback came back with a vengeance on Thursday. Mailloux motored behind a dominating offensive line to the tune of 186 yards and five touchdowns and the host Eagles made it five Turkey Day wins in a row with a convincing 50-30 thumping of Pioneer Valley Regional School.
“It felt great,” said Mailloux of his return. “Last week (against Blue Hills) was tough. I tried to get ready but I came out in pregame and (my ankle) just wasn’t feeling good. I did what I thought was best for the team (in not playing) but it was really hard for me not to be able to go.”
Mailloux’s return sparked a Tech rushing attack that went for 307 yards on the ground against Pioneer. In his last game as an Eagle, the bruising back toted the ball 28 times en route to his five-TD performance.
“Dylan wasn’t 100 percent but he definitely gave us 110 percent,” said Tech head coach Joe Gamache, who improved to 7-5 all-time on Thanksgiving against Pioneer. “Our hope was to try and play more physical up front than (Pioneer). They didn’t have a ton of depth so if we were able to wear them down, I felt good about us moving the football.”
FC Tech scored its most points ever in the 12-year series with Pioneer, storming out to a 30-6 halftime lead and extending the advantage to 50-14 early in the fourth quarter before sending in the JVs.
Despite the combined 80 points, the teams played a scoreless first quarter and things were shaping up to be a defensive battle. But Mailloux scored his first TD on the second play of the second quarter, bulling in from 2 yards out to put the Eagles up 8-0 after quarterback Seth Aldrich ran in the two-point conversion.
While the Panthers offense struggled to move the ball consistently against Tech, the visitors did showcase some big-play ability. That was indeed on full display on the ensuing kickoff. Alex Tyson returned the ball 78 yards for a touchdown, pulling Pioneer back within 8-6.
The rest of the first half belonged to the Eagles however. Ripping off big chunks of yardage on the ground with Mailloux, Spencer Telega (6 carries, 69 yards) and Tyler Sakowicz (7 carries, 39 yards), Tech scored on its next two offensive possessions – a 6-yard Mailloux score and a 15-yard Telega TD. The backbreaker came on the strength of a defensive touchdown however, as senior Caileb Milton got his hands on a tipped pass from Tyson, intercepting the ball and rumbling the other way for a 59-yard touchdown return. Thanks to 30 points in the second quarter, the Eagles took a commanding 30-6 advantage into intermission.
“We played a good team (Blue Hills) last week and to be honest I think that helped prepare us on a short week this week to come out and set the tone,” Gamache explained.
Tech’s success on the ground continued into the third quarter, when the team marched 75 yards on the opening possession of the half in 12 plays. Milton caught a pair of passes from Aldrich on the drive for 51 yards, but Mailloux closed things out with five straight runs — the fifth extending the lead to 37-6 on a 1-yard TD.
The offensive line of Mike Dobias, Kurtis Kuenzel, Dan Momaney and Deven Goshea along with center stalwart Sam Trudeau earned their Thanksgiving feast with arguably the team’s best performance up front all season. The quintet of underclassmen had the Panthers moving backwards all morning and into the afternoon.
“Our offensive line has been building all season and they’ve really come together,” lauded Mailloux. “This game just capped it off the right way for us.”
Tyson brought the Panthers back on his team’s next possession, scampering 52 yards on the ground to set up a 10-yard TD toss to Bryce Dobosz that pulled Pioneer back within 37-14. But Mailloux responded with his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the day to put things out of reach up 50-14.
Credit Pioneer (5-5) for playing until the end however, as Dobosz (20 carries, 133 yards) scored a 2-yard TD with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter, and he added a 31-yard rushing score with 18 seconds remaining.
It was a fitting end to the season for an Eagles team that survived a difficult early portion of the schedule (1-5) to rebound with wins in five of their last six games. The jump up in class from the Tri-County League to the Intercounty League this year was worth the difficulties, said Gamache.
“We played some really tough teams in the early part of our season, but the kids never quit,” he said. “They dedicated themselves to improving and just stayed with it. The focus was to end the season on a high note.”
The Eagles dominated in time of possession, holding the ball for 26:30 of the 44-minute tilt. They churned out 17 first downs and were forced to punt just once while forcing four Pioneer turnovers on the other end (two interceptions, two fumbles).
Mailloux and Tyson were tabbed MVPs of the contest in the post game awards ceremony, with Tech moving to 7-5 in the series against Pioneer that dates back to 2005.