TURNERS FALLS — Last season’s meeting came down to the final 51 seconds to decide it, but no such high drama was required in Friday night’s edition of the “Powertown Cup.”
Turners Falls High School bolted to a 28-0 lead and used a monster 175-yard, four-touchdown night from Wyatt Keith to roll crosstown rival Franklin County Technical School, 35-12, in an Intercounty League North Division battle at Bourdeau Fields.
The Thunder (6-1, 5-0 IL North) rattled off its sixth straight win to solidify its hold atop the North Division. Keith workhorsed his way to a game-high 33 carries with a touchdown run in each quarter, covering five, one, two and six yards respectively, and Kyle Dodge also threw a 16-yard scoring pass to Andy Craver shortly before halftime.
“It’s good to win and still have things to improve on – we certainly have that,” said Turners coach Chris Lapointe. “We’re doing some things well, the kids are working hard, but there are still enough things to adjust going down the road.
“(Keith) is a great kid, he runs the ball hard each and every play, and he’s gonna do whatever you ask him to do. He’s got speed, he can lower his shoulder when he needs to.”
Keith’s 175-yard night put him in a flat-footed tie with Greenfield High School’s RJ Byrd atop the list of local rushers. Each has 1,363 yards on the ground through seven games.
Franklin Tech did more than just hang around, pulling off two successful onside kicks and recovering a late fumble. The Eagles (2-5, 1-4 IL North) put two backs over 100 yards, led by Ian McClure (14 rushes, 116 yards), who busted loose on a 77-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. Bailey Young added 102 yards on the ground on 26 carries.
Total offense narrowly favored Turners, with 274 yards of offense compared to Tech’s 259.
“We were definitely outmatched today, from a talent and experience standpoint,” said Eagles coach Joe Gamache. “But our kids battled, they play with a lot of heart and passion. They know they have to play the full 44 minutes if they want to be on the field, and they did that. We’ve got some young guys doing some good things.”
Turners won last year’s game 21-20 as Dodge connected with Jaden Whiting on a 20-yard touchdown pass, followed by Tyler Lavin’s decisive extra point, with only 51.2 seconds left to play.
From the start Friday, Turners put together a 66-yard drive, keyed by Dodge’s 31-yard hookup to Whiting, to get in position for Keith’s first TD run less than three minutes in. Young broke through to block Lavin’s extra-point try, but the Thunder had a quick 6-0 lead.
Each of Franklin Tech’s four first-half possessions ended in a turnover on downs, two of them in Turners territory. Meanwhile, the Thunder added to it with a short drive, starting at Tech’s 47, finished off by Keith’s 1-yard run and Dodge’s two-point pass to Craver that made it 14-0 with 8:38 to go in the half.
Turners began its next drive at the Tech 41 and converted fourth-and-7 from the 16, when Dodge found Craver on the left sideline. Craver turned upfield, hit the brakes to allow a would-be tackler to fly by, then coasted into the end zone. Keith’s extra-point made it a 21-0 game at the 2:22 mark, and that lead carried into the half.
John Fritz then came up with an interception of Tech quarterback Owen Bashaw early in the third quarter, giving Turners the ball in great shape at the Tech 24. Six plays later, after his 13-yard run created first-and-goal at the 2, Keith went in on a dive play for his third touchdown. Lavin’s point-after upped the hosts’ lead to 28-0.
Bashaw (6-of-14 passing, 55 yards) then directed the Eagles on their first successful drive, starting at their own 36. He found Kayani Rodriguez for 14 yards and McClure for 12 more, then hit Rodriguez slanting across the middle on fourth-and-9 at the 14 for Tech’s first score. A pair of two-point tries, sandwiched around a face-mask call, both came up short as Tech trailed 28-6.
The Eagles then recovered their first onside kick but couldn’t do anything with the possession as Turners took over at its own 45. Ten plays later, Keith was in the end zone for the fourth time on a 6-yard run, followed by Lavin’s extra point that made it 35-6.
McClure then provided the night’s biggest highlight-reel play by taking a counter handoff around the right edge and going the distance, 77 yards, to pull Tech within 35-12 with 6:12 remaining. Although the Eagles would jump on the onside kick, they couldn’t move the ball, failing on fourth-and-17. Turners then advanced as far as the Tech 27 in the late going before Keith lost a fumble to Tech’s Tim Fritz.
Dodge finished 5-of-9 passing for 78 yards, with Whiting catching three passes for 52 yards and Craver two for 26. Rodriguez had three receptions for 31 yards to lead the Eagles.
Both teams wrap their regular-season schedules Friday night, with Turners home to face Easthampton High School and Tech traveling to Mahar Regional School.