GREENFIELD — In a game that had just about everything, the overarching theme Friday night was simple: Greenfield High School is back.
The Green Wave, buoyed by the play of quarterback Owen Phelps and tailback RJ Byrd, jumped out to a lead, withstood the inevitable blow back, weathered that adversity and came out winners on the other end. The result was a heart-stopping 22-20 overtime victory over Intercounty North favorite Frontier Regional School in front of a raucous crowd at Veterans Memorial Field.
“We’re tired of hearing about all the other teams out there,” explained Phelps, following his breakout night that saw the junior signal caller toss three touchdowns. “We want to show people what we can do.”
Despite staking themselves to a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter, the Green Wave (2-0, 2-0 IL) knew a response was coming from a Frontier team full of talented skill players capable of breaking off big plays. The Red Hawks scored two second-half touchdowns, including a tying TD when Bryce Dobosz scampered around the left side with 10:24 remaining in the fourth quarter to make it a 14-14 game.
The teams traded potential go-ahead touchdown drives that fell just short, and overtime was needed to settle things.
Frontier opened with possession, and just two plays were needed before the Hawks took their first lead of the game when Dobosz scored for the third time of the night on an 11-yard run. The all-important two-point conversion was thwarted, however, as Byrd burst through two blockers and managed to tackle Garrett DeForest two yards shy of the goal line. The Hawks held a 20-14 lead, but Greenfield had signs of life with its possession still upcoming.
“We told them how big that 2-point play was going to be,” explained Wave coach Mike Kuchieski of his squad. “We had some guys defensively step up for us there.”
Winning the game wasn’t easy.
The Frontier defense forced Greenfield into third down from the 9-yard line. Riding the right arm of Phelps, the Green Wave went through the air to snag the tying score. He connected with Daniel Vega in the right corner of the end zone, putting the ball just over a defender, and Vega managed to hang on despite a bobble to tie things up, 20-20.
That set the stage for the play of the game. Kuchieski called Byrd’s number, and he burst through the middle of the Frontier defense for the game-winning two-point conversion that set off the raucous celebration.
“I wanted the ball there,” said a determined Byrd afterward.
Phelps said he had no intentions of prolonging the proceedings into a second OT.
“I just wanted to win the game right there,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to keep playing.”
Phelps finished the contest 10-of-16 for 175 yards and three touchdowns, while Byrd carried the bulk of the load in the second half to the tune of 25 carries for 95 yards.
“This bunch of kids has brought everyone together,” began Kuchieski. “These seniors and juniors haven’t tasted success in their careers. So to win a game like this, it’s a credit to everyone in that locker room.”
The Wave jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, as Phelps hit Vega for his first of two touchdown receptions. The junior receiver, who missed last week’s game against Mahar Regional School, beat his defender on a go route for a 47-yard strike with 3:56 left.
Greenfield’s lead grew to 14-0 in the third quarter, as Phelps connected with junior Dionn Casanova for a 52-yard touchdown.
Not surprisingly, Frontier (1-1, 0-1 IL) responded. Dobosz scored his first of three touchdowns on the ground on a 28-yarder just three plays after Greenfield took a two-score lead. Matt Hildreth’s two-point conversion run cut the lead to 14-8 with 5:41 left in the third.
Dobosz, who finished with 93 yards rushing on 10 carries, capped an eight-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:24 left in the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was stuffed, keeping the game tied, 14-14.
Oftentimes, overtime comes down to which team can stop the other team’s conversion. That was no different on Friday night. Byrd’s tackle to stop Frontier morphed into his game-winning conversion on the Wave’s possession.
“We knew it was going to Byrd,” explained Frontier senior linebacker Aaron Landry. “We just couldn’t stop him.”
Hildreth paced the Hawks with 97 yards through the air on a 8-for-15 night.
Greenfield’s win sets up a huge game in Week 3. The Wave welcomes Turners Falls High School to Vets Field Friday night in an IL North battle of Turkey Day rivals that both picked up momentum-building wins at home. The Powertown stunned Athol High School, 34-6, making things very interesting atop the division standings.
Frontier returns home to take on Palmer High School in an independent contest Friday night in South Deerfield.