The festivities may be light on turkey and stuffing, but Greenfield High School heads to rival Turners Falls for the first of two yearly meetings tonight when the squads tangle at 7 in a huge early-season Intercounty League North contest at the Bourdeau Fields Complex in Turners Falls.
The two schools are slated to play on Thanksgiving Day at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield, but for now, this regular-season contest has huge implications on the IL North race. Turners (1-1, 1-0 North) could put two games between itself and Greenfield (1-1, 0-1) in the standings with a win, while the Green Wave would jumble the puzzle if they can steal the road victory.
“It’s a big game,” began Turners coach Chris Lapointe, whose team lost both meetings with Greenfield last season after rattling off seven straight victories in the series prior. “If we want to have any chance of moving forward this season, we understand the significance of this game. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s Greenfield. It’s always a big game going against them but the kids are focused.”
Greenfield coach Mike Kuchieski is expecting to have his hands full with the Thunder.
“Turners is a really good football team,” he lauded. “They’re not going to make many mistakes, for sure. We have to worry about us and what we’re doing if we want to be successful. We can’t get caught up in anything bigger than what we’re doing.”
Both teams enter tonight’s showdown looking to clean things up from performances a week ago. Turners got past Athol, 35-26, for its first win of the season, but the host Red Raiders ripped off over 250 yards on the ground in the loss.
“A lot of missed assignments,” Lapointe said of his team’s defensive issues in Week 2. “We have to get better and clean that part of things up, but we also have to be able to wrap up and limit the big play. We’ve forced teams into third down conversions this year, but we’ve let up a big play and that negates the work done on first and second down.”
Lapointe knows missed assignments won’t cut it against Greenfield senior tailback RJ Byrd. The bruising back has rushed for 363 yards through two games this season. He managed 161 yards a week ago in his team’s 25-22 loss to Frontier, though the Red Hawks were able to keep him out of the end zone, something Lapointe said is critical.
“The most important stat is to keep him out of the end zone,” said Lapointe of Byrd, who combined for 399 yards rushing in Greenfield’s two victories against Turners in 2017. “He’s a really good athlete. It’s not like he’s just a downhill runner or a scatback. You can’t simulate (what he does). You really have to swarm defensively and attempt to take away those chunk yards and slow him down.”
Greenfield had its own issues stopping the run a week ago. Frontier (1-1, 1-0) racked up nearly 300 yards on the ground in its victory, with both Garrett DeForest and Ito McMillan topping the 100-yard mark.
“We’ve gotta clean up our tackling and our toughness. We got beat up front a little bit,” admitted Kuchieski. “It’s all going back to the basics. Just play football and do your job.”
Greenfield’s offense came to life in the fourth quarter, nearly bringing the Green Wave all the way back against Frontier. Quarterback Owen Phelps (9-for-19, 106 yards) threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the team had a look at the go-ahead score before fumbling on fourth down on its final possession.
“It was nice that they overcame adversity and showed some guts at the end, but you have to play four quarters of football to win games like that,” Kuchieski said. “Owen had a slow start but he got us back into it. Credit to him, he kept plugging along. We have to do that for a full game, though. We can’t expect other people to do the job for us. It has to be all 11 guys on offense and defense working together.”
If Phelps and Byrd are both hitting their strides, look out. Wide receiver Danny Vega returned to the Greenfield lineup against Frontier and caught two touchdown passes. Fellow receiver Dionn Casanova is expected to play for the first time this season tonight, adding to the weapons on offense.
“They’re well-coached and have some great players in all phases,” said Lapointe of the Green Wave. “They’re one of the top teams out there for a reason. We have to go out there and prove ourselves on the field with them.”
Expectations were through the roof for the Turners offense going into the season, and the Thunder very much looked the part in their win over Athol. Senior quarterback Kyle Dodge threw for 156 yards and a whopping four touchdowns, while tailback Wyatt Keith rushed for 216 yards to give the blue and white an impressive balance. Dodge has 277 yards passing through two games, and he’s gotten nice performances out of his wide receivers in Jaden Whiting (six receptions, 104 yards), Andy Craver (three receptions, 95 yards) and Jake Wallace (three receptions, 42 yards). Whiting and Craver each have two touchdown catches, while Tyler Lavin also has a TD reception.
“Kyle has developed into a great leader for us,” Lapointe said of his signal caller. “He tries to work on what he’s done wrong in previous weeks and focus on improving instead of resting on what he does right. He’s studying defenses, working with his receivers more and more. After (the Lee loss in Week 1), there weren’t a lot of things for him to fix, but enough. He didn’t have to reinvent the wheel, just slow down and take a step back. As long as he doesn’t force things and takes what the defense gives him, he’s going to be OK.”
Kuchieski is well aware of what the Turners offense is capable of putting together.
“They do a lot well offensively,” he said. “They score points, they’ve got a great quarterback, great running back, beef up front and talented receivers. They’re not one-dimensional on offense. They can throw it, run it, do it all. It’s going to be a tough test for us.”
The Greenfield-Turners game highlights a big Week 3 slate. As it’s rivalry week, fellow Turkey Day foes Mahar and Athol also meet this evening in Orange. Easthampton heads for an IL North showdown at Franklin Tech, while Frontier has the lone independent opponent of the night when it travels to Legion Field and a game against Palmer. Saturday’s lone contest is a Tri-County League tussle with Mohawk visiting Smith Voke in Northampton at 4 p.m.
Here’s a closer look at the rest of the Week 3 contests:
Athol at Mahar, 7 — Rivalry week continues at the Woodward Complex in Orange this evening, as 0-2 teams Mahar and Athol both go for their first wins of the season. … Both teams showed signs of life in Week 2. Athol gave Turners Falls everything it could handle in the 35-26 loss, while Mahar led Easthampton for three quarters before the host Eagles rallied with three unanswered touchdowns to capture a 28-20 victory. … Athol has dominated this series in recent years. The Raiders are 6-2 in their last eight games against Mahar. The teams split in 2017, with Mahar coming back in Week 3 for a wild 18-16 win, while Athol exacted some revenge on Thanksgiving in a 24-22 win. … Athol’s rushing attack broke out last week against Turners, led by senior speedster Mason Barrieau. He rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carries, including a nifty 90-yard score on the team’s first play from scrimmage. … Mahar rode an all-purpose outing from Jon Gariepy, who threw for a touchdown and ran for another against Easthampton. Wide receiver Charlie Barnes had a big night, hauling in four catches for 61 yards and a TD. Gariepy showed a flare for the dramatics in last year’s meeting with Athol in Week 3. His 100-yard kickoff return touchdown late proved to be the difference… Mahar’s Jim Woodward faces Athol as head coach for the first time since retiring seven years ago. Woodward’s last meeting with the Red Raiders was a 15-0 win on Thanksgiving in 2011. … Athol coach Bill LaRose
Easthampton at FC Tech, 7 — Franklin Tech looks to break through against a team it has struggled mightily against over the years when Easthampton (1-1, 1-0) comes to Turners Falls for a battle of Eagles. … Easthampton holds a decisive 13-1 record all-time against Franklin Tech, including a 43-0 shutout in last year’s meeting down in Easthampton. … Easthampton has outscored Franklin Tech by a 504-117 margin over the 14 meetings, with the lone defeat coming back in 2000 — the first-ever matchup between the two schools. … After beating Mohawk in Week 1, Franklin Tech (1-1) lost its first game of the season a week ago when it fell on the road at Lee, 22-0. The Eagles managed just 18 yards rushing in the loss. After breaking out for five touchdowns and over 200 yards in Week 1, tailback Bailey Young was limited to 5 yards on 11 carries against Lee. … Easthampton quarterback Nick Pellegrini threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help his team come charging back to beat Mahar after digging themselves a 20-6 deficit after three quarters. Pellegrini threw for 172 yards in the victory.
Frontier at Palmer, 7 — The Red Hawks hope there is no letdown factor tonight at Legion Field in Palmer. Frontier firmly entrenched itself in the Intercounty League North race with an impressive 25-22 win over Greenfield, allowing the Hawks to open the league slate 1-0. … The independent tilt against Palmer marks the second year in a row the two teams will meet in Week 3. In last year’s game in South Deerfield, Frontier cruised to a 35-6 win for the program’s sixth win in a row against the Panthers. … Palmer hasn’t beaten Frontier since 1998, though the two teams took a 14-year hiatus before starting the series back up in 2017. … Frontier’s rushing attack impressed in the Week 2 win over Greenfield. DeForest and McMillan were able to get to the outside on several occasions against Greenfield en route to their big days, while fullback Corbin Blight also scored a rushing touchdown. Quarterback Matt Hildreth ran the offense well, completing 3 of his 4 passes for 52 yards. … Palmer is 0-2 to start the season and has struggled to score points. The Panthers were shut out by Quaboag, 13-0, in Week 1, before falling to McCann Tech, 21-7, a week ago in North Adams. … Palmer tailback Tyler Placanico scored his team’s lone touchdown against McCann Tech, a 61-yard run to open the scoring. Placanico had 69 yards on 6 carries overall.
Mohawk at Smith Voke, 4 — After breaking through with a nice performance to beat Pathfinder a week ago, Mohawk (1-1, 1-0) continues its Tri-County League slate with a road trip to play Smith Voke (0-2) Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Northampton. … Low numbers did little to slow the Warriors down in Week 2. The rushing attack went for over 300 yards in the 38-20 victory, including 189 yards on the ground from Evan Shippee. … Quarterback Shawn Davenport put together a huge all-around night in the win. Davenport threw a pair of touchdowns to Cam Lococo and also rushed for 63 yards and a score in the best performance of his career. … Mohawk leads this series 4-1 all-time, including a 26-20 win in 2017. Lococo ran for 100 yards and a touchdown in that victory. … The only Smith Voke win against Mohawk came in 2015. … The Vikings have been outscored 86-14 in their two losses to open the season, independent defeats to Drury and Northampton. … Smith Voke quarterback Nick Marcinowski threw for 100 yards and a touchdown against Northampton, connecting with Ethan Rivera for the teams’ only points of the night. … Saturday’s road trip is just the start for Mohawk, which doesn’t play at home at Pollard Field against until Oct. 26 against Palmer.