With two weeks left in the regular season, there’s still plenty of time for shifting in the WMass Power Ratings. But that doesn’t mean local football fans can’t get excited about what the most recent Div. 8 rankings have to offer.
If the season ended today, the WMass Football Committee’s latest ratings have rivals Turners Falls High School and Greenfield High School meeting in the Div. 8 semifinals. That’s right, top-seeded Lee (6-0, 19.67 rating) is well clear of the rest of the field, and Turners (5-1) has a sizable hold on the current No. 2 seed after last week’s big victory over Frontier, 35-28 in overtime. Greenfield (4-2) is the big mover and shaker this week, as the Green Wave (12.13 rating) climbed from the fifth spot into the No. 3 slot after Ware and Mount Greylock suffered losses to bump them down.
Hoosac Valley (3-2, 11.84) also moved up, and the Hurricanes currently occupy the fourth and final playoff spot in Div. 8, edging out Ware (4-2, 11.23) and Greylock (3-3, 10.47). That would leave a Hoosac at Lee semifinal on one side, as well as a Greenfield at Turners semifinal on the other end.
It seems somewhat meaningless to talk about hypothetical matchups with the regular season still rolling, but with only two weeks left, it’s not that unrealistic. A Turners-Greenfield playoff game would mark the first time the two teams have met in the postseason under the current format, and it would set up a whopping three games between the two rivals this season. Turners won a convincing 35-8 decision back in Week 3 at home, though Greenfield hasn’t lost since then. The two teams are guaranteed their annual Thanksgiving Day showdown, which is set to be played at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield this year.
The Powertown certainly won’t be looking ahead to a potential Greenfield playoff tilt however. Tonight, the Thunder welcome crosstown foe Franklin Tech (2-4) to the Bourdeau Fields Complex for a 7 p.m. game that serves as a rematch of one of the better games across Franklin County a year ago. In that contest, visiting Turners Falls overcame a late deficit, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a Kyle Dodge to Jaden Whiting pass with 51 seconds remaining. Tyler Lavin’s extra point secured a 21-20 victory.
While the postseason picture begins to open up, Turners still has its sights set on winning the Intercounty League North championship for the first time since 2016. After the win over Frontier a week ago, the Powertown sits alone atop the IL North standings at 4-0. Frontier and Easthampton are both just one game back at 3-1, meaning a loss would open the race right back up.
Speaking of Frontier and Easthampton, the two teams meet in a huge game tonight at White Brook Middle School in Easthampton. The Red Hawks won a decisive 34-8 victory when the two teams met a year ago, helping propel Frontier to the IL North title. Tonight’s game is a league title elimination game, with the loser out of contention and the winner still having a shot of at least grabbing a share of the regular-season crown.
Frontier is the third Recorder-area team in the current postseason picture. The Hawks sit as the No. 3 seed in Div. 7 despite last week’s loss to Turners Falls. Wahconah (5-1) remains atop Div. 7 as the No. 1 seed, and the defending WMass champions own a 14.00 power rating. South Hadley (4-2, 13.00) moved up to No. 2, leapfrogging Frontier thanks to a win over Pittsfield (3-3, 10.30), which fell from third to fifth. As it stands, Frontier would travel to South Hadley in a rematch of last year’s Div. 7 semifinal. Taconic moved up into the fourth and final playoff spot, and the Braves (3-3, 10.70) would travel to play Wahconah if the season ended today.
In addition to the Turners-Franklin Tech and Frontier-Easthampton games, there are three other contests tonight featuring local teams. Athol (2-4) heads to Vets Field to play Greenfield (4-2) in the other IL North game of the night, while Mohawk (1-4) travels to Ware (4-2) in Tri-County League action. Mahar (0-6) visits Mount Greylock (3-3) in an independent tilt, as the Senators seek their first win of the season against a traditionally tough Berkshire County foe.
Here’s a closer look at the five area games this evening:
FC Tech at Turners, 7 — Dodge’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Whiting in the final minute a year ago sent Turners past Franklin Tech in the unofficial “Powertown Cup.” … Turners is 3-0 against Tech since the teams started playing as IL North foes in 2015. … The Eagles got back into the win column with a much-needed victory a week ago. The team marched 93 yards on its final drive in the fourth quarter to capture a 16-8 win over Athol on the road at O’Brien Field. It was the second year in a row that Tech beat Athol, the alma mater of head coach Joe Gamache. … Last week’s 16 points broke a tough stretch for the Eagles offense, which was held without an offensive points for four straight weeks. … The Franklin Tech defense continues to be a top unit in the area, ranking third in scoring defense at 19.7 points per game allowed through six weeks. … Turners has won five in a row since a Week 1 loss to Lee. The Wildcats are the only team above the Thunder in the Div. 8 ratings. … Kyle Dodge continues to lead area passers with 685 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wyatt Keith (1,188 yards) is the top rusher while receivers Andy Craver (328 yards) and Jaden Whiting (186) are two of the top four receivers in terms of yardage. …Turners still has the top-ranked scoring offense and defense in the area.
Frontier at Easthampton, 7 — Perhaps the most compelling game of the night, Frontier heads to Easthampton in a battle of two teams trying to stay in league title contention. … Frontier took a step backward with last week’s overtime loss to Turners Falls, although the Red Hawks are just one game back in the standings and remain in the Div. 7 postseason hunt. … The Eagles picked up a 20-6 independent win over Ware in Week 6, a win that actually helped Greenfield in the playoff chase with the Green Wave hopping the Indians in the Div. 8 ratings. … Easthampton is currently in the No. 4 spot in the Div. 5 power ratings, and the Eagles would be playing top-seeded East Longmeadow in the semifinals if the season ended today. The squad needs a victory tonight to help it stay ahead of fifth-ranked Northampton (3-3) and sixth-ranked Amherst (4-2). … As mentioned above, Frontier rolled to a 34-8 win a year ago when the Hawks overcame an early 8-0 deficit to cruise to victory. Quarterback Matt Hildreth threw a touchdown in that game. … Frontier has won four games in a row in this series, with Easthampton’s last victory coming back in 2013.
Athol at Greenfield, 7 — Greenfield looks to make it four wins in a row tonight when Athol comes to town looking to slow the team’s momentum. … The Red Raiders rolled to a 41-12 victory in last year’s meeting at O’Brien Field, as fullback Robbie Nelson scored four touchdowns and Athol never trailed. … The Raiders have enjoyed success in this series over recent years. Athol has won three in a row over Greenfield, with the Wave’s last win coming via a 16-14 win in 2014. … Greenfield tailback RJ Byrd went over the 1,000 yard mark last week against Mahar, scoring three touchdowns in the first half of his team’s 36-12 win over Mahar. That included a 94-yard score, and Byrd has been a force during the team’s three-game winning streak. … Wide receiver Danny Vega kept his touchdown streak alive against Mahar a week ago. The senior has caught TDs in five straight weeks, and he has six scores in total this fall. After missing the first week of the season with an injury, he’s been a weekly fantasy stud. Quarterback Owen Phelps has seven touchdowns on the year, six of them to Vega. … The Red Raiders are looking to get back on track after being tripped up by Franklin Tech, 16-8, last week. Leading rusher Mason Barrieau (666 yards, 6 TDs) was held to just 46 yards on 12 carries by a stout Eagles defense.
Mohawk at Ware, 7 — Tri-County League-leader Ware fell out of the Div. 8 playoff top four with its loss to Easthampton, meaning the Indians are hungry to get back in the win column and keep its postseason and TCL title hopes alive with a win tonight at home. … Mohawk’s defense powered the Warriors in a Week 6 loss on the road at McCann Tech, 6-0. The Warriors had good field position throughout but were unable to cash in, although they did hold the Hornets (3-2, 2-1) to just a fourth-quarter touchdown. It was Mohawk’s best defensive outing of the season. … Mohawk’s Evan Shippee led the rushing attack with 57 yards on 13 carries against McCann, and he has 381 yards and three touchdowns on the ground through five games.
Mahar at Mount Greylock, 7 — It’s a tough road trip for the Senators as they head to Farley-Lamb Field on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown to play Mount Greylock (3-3). … The Mounties were blanked by Ludlow, 13-0, a week ago, a result that dropped them out of the current postseason picture in Div. 8. … The team’s three wins have come against Monument Mountain, Belchertown and Drury, teams with a combined 5-12 record. … Mahar is in search of its first victory this season. The team’s last win came Nov. 9, 2017 against Monument Mountain. … Last year’s game between the two teams was a close one, as Greylock held on for a 22-20 win in Orange. Mahar’s Jon Gariepy rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, and he’ll look to have another big game after scoring a pair of TDs in last week’s loss to Greenfield. After missing time with injury, Gariepy has rushed for 208 yards combined in Mahar’s last two games. … Mahar receiver Charlie Barnes has the second-most receptions in the Recorder-area this fall (17).