BARRE — The Athol High School football team opened its season with a 36-0 loss to Quabbin Regional on Friday night at a crowded Alumni Field.
The Red Raiders did not register a first down until the third quarter against the Panthers. Athol had several players making varsity debuts and only 13 players available against a deep Quabbin team.
Athol ran its new spread offense without a lot of experience. Riley Paine made his first start at quarterback for the Red Raiders.
“We have to work stuff on the offensive side,” Athol coach Bill LaRose said. “We have to think about is this the system we want. We need to work on some stuff on the line and make better decisions.”
The mood in the postgame huddle was positive regardless.
“Our kids played a varsity football team team tonight,” LaRose said. “They got beat soundly, but they never quit. I am proud of my guys. We have to get some guys healthy. We are going to be okay.”
Shea Brennan made his varsity debut and had two receptions for eight yards. Thomas Seamans got the most touches for Athol with eight carries out of the backfield.
The Red Raiders’ defense got two stops against Quabbin’s offense with the Panthers closing in on touchdowns in the first half.
“Our defense had a hell of an effort tonight,” LaRose said. “We had some kids step up. Some kids in positions they don’t normally play.”
On the second stop, Paine glided over to a receiver to knock down a potential touchdown. Isaac Bastine had the longest play from scrimmage with an eight-yard rush on a misdirection play in the third quarter.
Jacob Smith caught two passes from Paine for eight yards with an interception on defense.
“Effort level was above my expectations,” Smith said. “I am really proud of this team. The defense did good. Made some key stops. Honestly better than what I was expecting.”
Paine finished 5-for-12 for 20 yards with two interceptions.
With the score 30-0 at halftime, the teams played 10 minute quarters with a running clock in the second half.
Quabbin jumped ahead on its first possession when Tony Robidoux carried for a 1-yard touchdown. Later in the first quarter Tony Coppolino tossed a 30-yard touchdown to Deven Thomas for Quabbin’s second score of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, it was the Hector Johnson show for the Panthers. Johnson finished two tough runs through tackles for a 17-yard score and a 20-yard score for Quabbin.
In the third quarter, shifty running back Noah Herzig scored a 13-yard touchdown for the Panthers to close the scoring.
Derek Erali had a 26-yard kickoff return for the Red Raiders in the second quarter.
