There is a lot on the line during the eighth and final week of the western Mass. high school football regular season tonight.
Not only will three area football teams be playing games with their own postseason implications on the line, but the Intercounty League North Division title will be up for grabs in the Powertown where first-place Turners Falls High School faces second-place Easthampton High School at 7. Turners has already clinched at least a share of the league title, but a victory would give the Thunder the outright crown. Meanwhile, a win by the Eagles would move them into a share of first place with Turners Falls.
“Winning the league title is not the end of the road, but it’s the first step and certainly a goal we set early in the season, so it’s something we would like,” Turners coach Chris Lapointe said.
Perhaps the game with the biggest postseason implications among area teams will take place in Belchertown where Greenfield travels to face the Orioles tonight at 7. Greenfield is currently the fourth seed in the WMass Division 8 field and can lock up a berth with a win. Should the Green Wave lose, they will likely fall out of the postseason picture as Ware and Mt. Greylock appear able to jump the Wave if they win and Greenfield falls. Another big matchup is in Athol where the Red Raiders host Frontier tonight at 7. Athol nearly spoiled the Green Wave’s postseason party last week before falling late, 44-36, and now the Raiders get a chance to beat the playoff-bound Red Hawks. Frontier is on a current two-game losing streak and sits 4-3 in Division 7, but the Hawks appear to be safely in the top four in a Division 7 that has just three teams with records above .500 and the next two teams in the field — Taconic and Pittsfield — face each other tonight, with the winner earning a postseason berth.
Two more games dot the local landscape. Mohawk hosts Palmer on Booster Day in Buckland in a game that features two teams looking for a bright spot to end the regular season. Finally, Franklin Tech heads to Orange to face Mahar in what could also be a competitive game between the bottom two teams in the IL North.
While Easthampton (5-2) is playing for a piece of the IL North crown, the Eagles have something even more important on the line when they face Turners (6-1) tonight as they currently sit tied for third in the WMass Division 5 standings along with Amherst with a 13.86 rating. Longmeadow is fifth with a rating of 13.14, and Northampton is sixth with a 11.89 rating. Should Easthampton lose, it’s very possible that any of those teams could move ahead of the Eagles and knock them out of the postseason picture.
Regardless of what is on the line, tonight’s game should be wildly entertaining thanks in part to the two squads coming in with the top two passing offenses in the league. Easthampton throws the ball more than any other team in the league as quarterback Nick Pellegrini is consistently over 20 passes per game. In last week’s 29-20 win over Frontier, Pellegrini was 12-for-20 passing for 184 yards with three touchdowns and he was doing that all without his favorite target, Quinton Baker-Cisero. The fact that he was able to perform so well shows the depth in the Eagles’ receiving corps as Damien Diluzio caught 10 passes for 139 yards, while Ben Landry, running back Jacob Neumann and Marcus O’Meally are also threats.
“They put us at risk in areas we haven’t seen this year,” Lapointe said of the Easthampton passing attack. “They have four wide receivers and a good quarterback. You really have to be disciplined as an individual because if you start over-pursuing or over-compensating for someone else, that’s where they’re going to get you.”
Easthampton can also run the ball, as Neumann leads the backfield, while Diluzio can also haul the ball.
The Eagles’ offense may be flashy but it is not the highest-scoring bunch in the IL North. Easthampton enters the game fourth in scoring in the league, but does boast the second-best defense in terms of points allowed.
The top defense belongs to the Powertown, which also has the top offense in the league. Turners is allowing a league-low 15.4 points per game this season and Lapointe said it begins with his defensive front.
“Our line, Dom Carme, Reilan Castine, Anthony Peterson and Jon Fritz just continue to grow, and Ryan Duclos fills in,” Lapointe said. “I think our defense can do the job as long as we do our assignments.”
Turners continues to score at a rate of 28.9 points per game, which ties it with Greenfield atop the league. Quarterback Kyle Dodge leads the area in passing yards with 763 on 48 completions, and an area-leading 11 touchdowns. Wyatt Keith is now tied with RJ Byrd of Greenfield for the area rushing lead with 1,363 on 210 attempts. He has scored the second-most rushing touchdowns in the area with 14.
Easthampton is just behind Turners in scoring defense, as it is second in the league and the only other team to hold opponents under 100 points this season. The Eagles also have a big, strong defensive line, and athletic backs.
There is a lot on the line in what should be a very exciting game and one that will help both teams gear up for potential postseason runs.
Here’s a closer look at the rest of tonight’s slate:
Greenfield at Belchertown, 7 — The path to a postseason berth is pretty clear for Greenfield: Win tonight and get in. The Wave head to Belchertown (3-4) for an independent road game, and a victory would most assuredly get Greenfield into the WMass Div. 8 field of four. … Greenfield (13.26 rating) sits in the No. 4 spot currently, well clear of fifth-place Ware (11.66) for the final spot. The Wave could potentially survive a loss tonight and still get in, but would need the likes of Ware and Mount Greylock (current No. 6 seed) to also lose tonight. … The last time Greenfield earned a postseason berth was 2012, when Mount Greylock clubbed the Wave, 62-0, in the WMass Div. 3 semifinals. It was the largest known margin of defeat in Greenfield history, and the most points allowed by the Wave since a 65-32 loss at Chicopee High School on Nov. 13, 1993. … In last year’s meeting with Belchertown, the Wave cruised to a 30-6 victory without the services of tailback RJ Byrd, who was out with a leg injury. … Speaking of Byrd, the senior enters tonight’s game fresh off his ridiculous 39-carry, 347-yard, five-touchdown performance against Athol last week in Greenfield’s 44-36 win. … Belchertown, which enters on a two-game losing streak, sits as the seventh-ranked team in the Div. 5 power ratings entering this week’s games. The Orioles aren’t likely postseason-bound, though they could prove to be a tough foe for Greenfield. Their best win game in the season-opener against Ware, 29-0, although they’ve won just twice since then against teams with a combined 3-10 record (Drury, Monument Mountain). … Their last two losses have come against playoff-bound teams. Belchertown lost to Ludlow, the current No. 2 seed in the Div. 5 field, 20-6, as well as Lee, the No. 1 seed in Div. 8, by a 28-7 margin. … Greenfield is up to a tie for first place in the scoring offense with Turners Falls at 28.9 points per game. On defense, the Wave ranks second in the area at 20 points allowed per contest.
Frontier at Athol, 7 — Despite a two-game skid, Frontier is still in position to earn a postseason berth in Div. 7. The Red Hawks followed their overtime loss to Turners two weeks ago with a 29-20 defeat at Easthampton a week ago, and they’re badly in need of a bounce back with the postseason looming. … Frontier sits third in the latest Div. 7 power ratings at 11.71. Wahconah (16.89) and South Hadley (14.60) are likely locked into the top two spots, while No. 4 Taconic (11.03) and No. 5 Pittsfield (10.14) actually play each other on Saturday in the final regular-season game for both teams. A win would certainly enable Frontier to keep a top 4 spot, and a loss could still be enough as just three schools in all of Div. 7 currently have winning records. … Frontier rolled to a 49-17 win over Athol at home a year ago, but the Red Raiders are relishing their role as potential spoilers after nearly knocking off Greenfield in Week 7. … Don’t expect much passing in this one. Athol has the No. 2 rushing offense in the Recorder-area, ripping off 240.7 yards per game on the ground. Frontier has the No. 1-ranked rushing attack with 256.4 yards per game. … Athol’s Mason Barrieau is within striking distance of 1,000 yards for the season as he enters tonight with 862 rushing yards. Frontier’s Garrett DeForest is tops on his team with 791 yards, though the Hawks have shown good balance with six different players with over 100 yards for the season.
FC Tech at Mahar, 7 — It could be a defensive battle in Orange tonight, as Franklin Tech heads to Mahar in a matchup of the Nos. 6 and 7 ranked offenses in the area. … Franklin Tech, which fell 35-12 at Turners Falls High School in Week 7, is last in scoring with 10.6 points per game, though the offense has looked better of late. Mahar is ranked just above the Eagles in sixth position with 10.7 points per game, having scored exactly one more point than Franklin Tech on the season (75-74). … The Senators nearly pulled off an impressive road win a week ago. They built an 18-6 lead in the fourth quarter before host Mount Greylock scored the final 16 points to snag a 22-18 win. … Franklin Tech won this game last year, 24-20, in Turners Falls. … Tech tailback Bailey Young sits fifth in the area in rushing with 682 yards through seven games. Young rushed for 82 yards in last year’s win over the Senators. … Mahar’s Charlie Barnes caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season last week against Greylock. He’s third in the area in yards and touchdowns, as well as second in receptions this season.
Palmer at Mohawk, 7 — The Warriors return home for just the second time this season and first since Sept. 14 to host Palmer in a Tri-County League game at Pollard Field in Buckland. … The Warriors are actually undefeated on their home turf, with the team’s lone win coming in that game against Pathfinder, 38-20. … Mohawk looked good at times against TCL-leading Ware in Week 7, jumping out to a 6-0 lead after one quarter. The Indians came charging back and ultimately grabbed a 29-6 win. … While they have struggled running the ball, the Warriors have done damage through the air this season. Behind quarterback Shawn Davenport, Mohawk ranks third in the Recorder-area in passing yards per game (74.8) — behind only Turners (109) and Greenfield (91.4). … Wide receiver Cam Lococo caught his third touchdown pass of the season last week against Ware. … Palmer (2-4) is currently in sixth place in the Div. 7 power ratings (7.17). After an 0-4 start, the Panthers have rallied with back-to-back victories over Pathfinder (47-0) and Smith Voke (27-0). They sit 2-2 in the TCL, tied for third with McCann Tech. Mohawk is fifth at 1-3, ahead of last-place Pathfinder (0-5, 0-4).