GREENFIELD — Franklin County Technical School made the most of its possessions, and left previously unbeaten Greenfield High School searching for answers.
The Eagles were able to score on five of their seven possessions and rode a dominant performance by its offensive and defensive lines to roll past the Green Wave, 32-14, in an Intercounty League North matchup Friday night at Veterans Memorial Field.
“The kids came to play (tonight),” said an obviously pleased Franklin Tech head coach Joe Gamache afterward. “We’ve been waiting for it for a couple of weeks, and we didn’t have the best week of preparation so we really weren’t sure what we were gonna get out of them, but they showed up (tonight) and they played well.”
Many local pundits expected Greenfield (3-1 overall, 3-1 IL North) to win this one and in convincing fashion. But Franklin Tech wasn’t having any of it, and the Eagles cashed in on nearly every opportunity they had, building a 20-6 halftime lead.
The Wave opened the second half with a masterful ball-control drive that consumed 80 yards and 9 minutes, 21 seconds of the third quarter. Owen Phelps finished it off with a three-yard run to the left pylon on third-and-goal-to-go. The failed two-point rush attempt left it 20-14.
The lack of time only allowed the Eagles two second-half possessions, but that was enough for them to score on both and put the game away.
Franklin Tech (2-2, 1-1 North) used it own ball-control attack to march 56 yards in 13 plays to take control of the contest. The Eagles converted on the game’s biggest play, when quarterback Seth Aldrich was stopped just inches from the goal line on third down. Bailey Young crashed up the middle for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal to extend Franklin Tech’s lead to 26-14.
The Eagles’ rapidly improving defense held Greenfield to a three-and-out, then needed only four plays to drive 62 yards and deliver the knockout. Young’s 36-yard scamper on third down set up Franklin Tech on the Wave 20, and Spencer Telega burst up the middle on the next play to score with 2:11 left.
Wave head coach Mike Kuchieski wasn’t afraid to give credit where due.
“They played well and we didn’t, that’s the bottom line,” he said. “I think they beat us up a little bit and were more aggressive, and we weren’t ready to play.”
Franklin Tech opened with the ball and drove 66 yards to draw first blood, as Telega took it in from 3 yards away for a 6-0 lead just 3:50 in.
The Eagles picked off Phelps on fourth down from the Franklin Tech 26 to stop their first drive, then took advantage of a poor punt to score their next TD in two plays. Tony Govan Jr. swept around the right end and sprinted 34 yards until he was brought down at the 2. Telega barreled in on the next play for his second TD of the evening, and the failed two-point run left it 12-0.
Greenfield responded with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in a nifty 33-yard scoring run by RJ Byrd to cut the deficit to 12-6 with 1:33 left.
Byrd led all rushers with 28 carries for 174 yards (104 in the first half), but the Eagles’ defense made him earn pretty much every one, and he only broke loose for two runs over 20 yards.
“You’ve gotta get a lot of bodies to him,” said Gamache of Byrd. “He’s quick and slippery, and he got away from us a couple times. But overall I think the kids did a great job flying to the ball and playing physical.”
A short kickoff left Tech at its 48 with 1:26 on the clock, and six plays later the Eagles scored a critical touchdown when tight end Colby Mailloux snagged a 3-yard pass from Aldrich (4-for-7, 69 yards) and Young added the two-point run to send Tech into intermission with its 14-point advantage.