NORTH ADAMS — The defenses had it all their own way on a blustery and occasionally rainy Saturday afternoon, pitching a double shutout into the fourth quarter.
That’s when McCann Technical School finally cracked through, getting a 24-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Koch to Zavier Martin-Levesque less than a minute into the final frame. The Hornets made that lone score stand up, posting a 6-0 Tri-County League victory over visiting Mohawk Trail Regional High School.
The Warriors will lament failing to cash in on a number of opportunities. With excellent starting position on practically every drive, Mohawk (1-4, 1-2 TCL) saw six of its seven possessions end in McCann territory and suffered its third straight defeat.
“It was a great game, but we got beat — just mistakes,” said Mohawk coach Doug McCloud. “Our defense was outstanding, we made a lot of plays, but one drive … I’m proud of our kids. I feel bad for them, especially a game we should have won.”
McCann (3-2, 2-1 TCL) snapped a two-game losing streak and got back on the high side of .500 both overall and in league play.
“Maybe it’s not a great game on the scoreboard,” said McCann coach Tony Skiffington. “But to watch the game and appreciate what’s going on on the line of scrimmage, I thought it was awesome. Those Mohawk kids are gritty, they don’t have any subs, but my kids worked hard too. We’ve just got to get some people back.”
Mohawk’s first serious chance came with time winding down in the first half. Quarterback Shawn Davenport aired out a 34-yard completion to Jordan Grenier to put the ball at the McCann 30. Three plays later, facing third-and-8 at the 28, Davenport threw long down the middle and was intercepted by McCann’s Darian Tovani at the 2-yard line. Tovani returned the pick 28 yards to the 30, and the Hornets were content to run out the clock from there to go to the locker room scoreless.
Martin-Levesque got McCann’s scoring drive kick-started with a 33-yard punt return to the Mohawk 49, and the Hornets got close behind a 10-yard gain from Josh Brazeau and a 14-yarder by Dylan St. Hilaire. On second-and-15 from the 24, Martin-Levesque ran a post-corner route to the right pylon, and Koch came through with his only completion of the afternoon for the touchdown. The two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, but McCann had its critical 6-0 lead with 10:04 to play in the final quarter.
The Warriors then put together their best advance of the day, starting at their own 40. Evan Shippee went for a 17-yard gain and Davenport found Cam Lococo for 17 yards to the McCann 20. On fourth-and-7 from the 10, Davenport looked for Grenier in the back right corner of the end zone but missed connections, and Mohawk lost the ball on downs with 4:52 left.
McCann had to punt, however, giving Mohawk another short field at the Hornets’ 44. Three incompletions followed, then Davenport was forced to scramble on fourth-and-10 and lost a couple of yards. The hosts took over with less than 90 seconds to go and killed the clock from there.
“We tripped and dropped a pass down there, ran a wrong pattern on the next one — there’s not much more you can say,” said McCloud. “We had every opportunity, we should have gone down there and tied it, but we did not. So we live to play another week.”
Davenport completed 6-of-16 passes for 77 yards with one interception for the Warriors. Shippee ended with a team-high 57 yards on 13 carries, and Mohawk had a 174-161 edge in total offense.
Darius Tovani led McCann and all rushers with 77 yards on 22 carries, while Brazeau finished with 37 yards. Koch was 1-of-6 passing for 24 yards with his TD connection to Martin-Levesque.
Next up for the Warriors is a trip to TCL leader Ware High School (4-2, 3-0) Friday at 7 p.m.