Hard to believe we’ve already crossed the halfway point of the high school football regular season, but here we are on Week 5 of eight.
Area football fans will be treated to a four-pack of football games this weekend, although many of the games appear somewhat lopsided on paper. The contest with the most intrigue may be taking place at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield where Easthampton takes its three-game winning streak to pay Greenfield a visit Friday at 7.
Each of the other three games on the schedule also take place Friday. Frontier takes its three-game winning streak on the road as it heads to Franklin Tech at 7, while Turners Falls puts its three-game winning streak on the line when it heads east on Route 2 to face Mahar at 7. Mohawk comes off its bye week and heads to Athol for an independent tilt at 7.
Greenfield enters this game on a bit of a high after defeating Franklin Tech, 30-0, last week to end a two-game losing streak. The win evened the Green Wave’s record at 2-2 on the season. Wave coach Mike Kuchieski said it was nice to get one in the win column but he is not satisfied with just one victory.
“Franklin Tech was under-manned, they are going through some struggles with injuries,” he said. “It was a nice win to get back on track. If we play the way we’re supposed to, I think we can do some great things, but if we had been playing like that all along, we wouldn’t have been in the position we were.”
After beating Woodstock (Conn.) Academy in its season opener, Greenfield suffered back-to-back setbacks to Frontier and Turners Falls, the two teams that have quietly risen to the top of the Intercounty League North Division standings. It’s a conversation that Greenfield was expected to be part of this season, but struggles on both sides of the ball have the team still facing some questions. In both losses, the Green Wave offense has sputtered, while the defense has gashed. Kuchieski said that in order for his team to improve, they need to look in the mirror and work on themselves, not worry about anyone else.
“The challenge is with us. We can’t worry about what other teams are doing. We need to worry about us,” he said. “I think defensively, we got some confidence last week, and if we get it done defensively, I think we can win some games.”
Greenfield will have to be on its best defensively against a dynamic Eagles’ offense. Easthampton got shelled, 74-0, by Taconic in Week 1 but since that time the Eagles have not lost, beating Mahar, Franklin Tech and Athol. The Eagles’ offense is pass-happy, as quarterback Nick Pellegrini routinely throws more than 20 passes per game. Pellegrini is coming off an 8-for-16 performance against Athol for 148 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
His main target — Quintin Baker-Cisero — is one of the top pass-catchers in the area, although far from the team’s only weapon. Ben Landry is another strong pass-catcher on the outside, while players like Jacob Neumann and Damien Diluzio both do a nice job catching passes out of the backfield. When the passing game is clicking, it makes things more difficult to stop the running game as Athol found out last week when Neumann rushed for 148 yards and one touchdown. Four other players rushed for more than 40 yards last week for the Eagles.
“They are such a multi-talented offense,” Kuchieski said. “They’ve got some athletes.”
The Eagles have also improved defensively as the season has gone on. Two weeks ago, Easthampton limited Franklin Tech to just two points (a safety), and last week the Eagles shut down Athol’s attack, allowing two late touchdowns as Athol avoided the shutout. Red Raider back Mason Barrieau was held to just 46 yards on 10 carries, and Athol struggled to move the ball.
Easthampton will have to be just as tough again this week against a Green Wave team with explosive playmakers. The game could feature the second-best pass-catcher in the league (Turners wideouts may beg to differ) in Greenfield’s Danny Vega. The senior wideout missed Week 1 with an injury but since then has made up for lost time, gaining 197 yards in three games, including going for 80 and 85 in his past two games. He also has shown a nose for the goal line as he enters the game with four receiving touchdowns. Fullback Nate Haselton has developed into another strong target in the passing game, hauling in seven catches for 80 yards this season, and wideout Hunter Campbell has six catches for 80 yards.
Greenfield quarterback Owen Phelps is playing at a high level this season and enters the game completing 60 percent of his passes this season (31-of-52) for 401 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
The success in the passing game should help take some pressure off Green Wave running back RJ Byrd, who has rushed for 534 yards and six touchdowns on the year.
“The whole point of throwing the ball is to get some pressure off RJ and our linemen,” Kuchieski said. “We’ve been 70-30 in terms of runs vs. pass plays for two years, and we need to be closer to 50-50 to be successful. We can’t depend on one person to make all the plays.”
Both teams are still very much alive in the postseason hunt as we enter the second half of the regular season and a win on Friday would go a long way toward qualifying.
Here’s a look at Week 5’s other games:
Turners at Mahar, 7
Two teams going in opposite directions meet Friday in Orange. Turners Falls looks to stay undefeated in the IL North (3-1, 2-0) when it travels across Route 2 to play a winless Mahar (0-4, 0-3) team looking to break through with a big win. … The Senators halted a five-game losing streak to the Powertown a year ago, capturing a tight 20-19 win in Turners. Jon Gariepy ran for 172 yards and scored two touchdowns in the victory. … Turners QB Kyle Dodge tossed a pair of touchdowns to Jaden Whiting in last year’s loss, totaling 188 yards through the air. … Turners has been a well-balanced squad, especially in recent weeks. The Thunder lead the Recorder-area in both scoring offense (26 points per game) and scoring defense (15.3 allowed/game). … Dodge is the No. 1 passer in the area in yardage and touchdowns this fall. The senior signal caller has 442 yards and seven touchdowns through four games. … Wyatt Keith is also the leading performer at his position for Turners. The tailback has gained 683 yards on the ground and scored five TDs. … Friday’s game features three of the top four receivers in the area in terms of yardage. Mahar’s Charlie Barnes leads with 15 receptions and 198 yards to go with three TDs, while the Turners tandem of Whiting (9 receptions, 158 yards, 3 TDs) and Andy Craver (7 receptions, 192 yards, 3 TDs) are also in the top four. … Mahar’s Noaha Chabot stepped into the quarterback spot last week against Frontier after starter Ayden Sevigny went out with an injury. Chabot tossed two touchdowns, both to Barnes, in an impressive relief debut under center. … Turners will look to avoid a potential look-ahead spot here, as a showdown with fellow IL North unbeaten Frontier looms in Week 6.
Frontier at Franklin Tech, 7
The host Eagles hope they can get their offense back on track Friday against a tough Frontier squad, which heads to the Powertown looking to remain undefeated in the IL North. … Franklin Tech (1-3, 0-2) hasn’t scored an offensive point since Week 1’s 44-6 win over Mohawk, with the team being shut out twice since then and only putting up two points via a safety in a 19-2 loss to Easthampton. … Frontier (3-1, 2-0) won its third game in a row a week ago, beating Mahar, and aims to keep pace with fellow unbeatens Turners Falls and Easthampton. … The Red Hawks boast two of the top seven rushers in the area, with Garrett DeForest posting his second straight 200-plus yard game in the win over Mahar. He sits second in the Recorder-area in rushing yards this season (590) while teammate Ito McMillan is seventh with 269. … Frontier won last year’s meeting, 41-14, with the Red Hawks putting up 414 yards of offense en route to the lopsided victory. … One bright spot for the Eagles has been the play of their defense. Through four weeks, the team has allowed the second-fewest points per game (19.3) in the area. Only Turners Falls (15.3) has held opponents to lower totals on the season. … Frontier has put up 107 points in its last two games against Franklin Tech. Last year’s meeting was predated by a 66-28 final in 2016.
Mohawk at Athol, 7
After a bye week, Mohawk (1-2) heads to O’Brien Field in Athol to play the Red Raiders (1-3) in an independent game. … Athol cruised to a 33-6 victory over Mohawk in last year’s meeting in Buckland. … The Raiders enter Friday’s game fresh off a disappointing loss to Easthampton in Week 4. The team hopes it can do some damage offensively against a Mohawk defense that has allowed 103 points through three games. … Athol tailback Mason Barrieau is fourth in the area in rushing with 472 yards through four games, though he has ripped off more than his share of big runs. Barrieau is averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, and given the Mohawk defense’s propensity for allowing chunk plays so far, the speedy back could have a big night at home. … Athol quarterback Caleb Cox threw the first two varsity touchdown passes of his career in last week’s game against Easthampton. … Mohawk hasn’t defeated an Intercounty League opponent since it beat Belchertown (46-0) back in 2014. … The Warriors do have some talented playmakers on offense who could make things difficult for an Athol defense that has allowed 34 or more points in three of their four games. Mohawk quarterback Shawn Davenport has four touchdown passes while tailback Evan Shippee has 278 yards and three TDs on the ground through three games. … Friday’s game is the second in a run of four straight road contests for Mohawk. The Warriors aren’t home again until Oct. 26 against Palmer.