The crosstown rivalry between Athol High School and Mahar Regional adds another chapter tonight at O’Brien Field.
The Senators (1-1 overall, 0-1 Intercounty League North) and the Red Raiders (0-2, 0-1) battle on the gridiron with both teams looking for their first wins in the Intercounty League North Division. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m in Athol.
Both teams are coming off losses, and looking to steady the ship.
“It’s Mahar, it doesn’t take a lot to get the kids excited,” Athol coach Bill LaRose said. “They’ll be ready.”
The Senators’ rushing attack has looked promising this season, led by Jake Tenney who has rushed for over 100 yards in both games. Tenney is fourth in the Recorder area in rushing with 206 yards on the ground.
“They run a lot of quick pitch, they get the ball to the outside and let the back use his feet,” LaRose said of Mahar. “It’s what you know from Jim (Woodward). He’s a wing-T disciple. His kids really know their assignments.”
Athol’s Jacob Smith accounted for over 150 yards of all-purpose yards last week in a 31-12 loss to Monument Mountain, including an 80-yard kickoff return.
Smith left the game with a lower-body injury and was limited in practice this week, but will play against the Senators tonight.
Bruisers Isaac Bastine and converted running back Manny O’Lari get most of the between-the-tackle carries for the Raiders.
Mahar had a light practice week with some players banged up following last week’s 58-13 loss to Frontier, but the Senators are ready to go against the Red Raiders.
“We are getting better every week,” Mahar coach Jim Woodward said. “Still have a long ways to go. The linemen are starting to fire off and move their feet.”
When the Senators aren’t running, look for quarterback Noaha Chabot to throw to favorite target Charlie Barnes. The wideout leads Franklin County with 90 receiving yards through two games, while Chabot is second in the area in passing yards with 175 and a pair of touchdowns.
The teams split a pair of meetings in 2018, with Athol winning the regular-season matchup before Mahar turned the tides on Thanksgiving.
The Mahar-Athol rivalry game headlines an intriguing Week 4 slate. Here’s a closer look at the rest of the local games this weekend:
Easthampton at Frontier, 7
It’s not often that a late September game has postseason implications, but that may be the case tonight in South Deerfield.
Through the early part of the season, Frontier and Easthampton look to be the class of the Intercounty League North Division. The Red Hawks (2-1, 2-0 IL North) have rebounded after dropping their opener to Belchertown, defeating Monument Mountain and Mahar in blowout fashion, while the Eagles (1-1, 1-0) fell in their opener to Ware, but came out and defeated Greenfield last week, 30-20.
The Frontier offense has been humming of late, scoring 91 points in its two wins. The attack goes through the ground, where Ito McMillan and Josh Semaski have handled the bulk of the load. McMillan is coming off a huge 184-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Senators, which puts him as the No. 1 rusher in the Recorder area with 392 yards and five touchdowns.
Semaski has given the Red Hawks a solid second option, as the sophomore has churned out 251 yards and a pair of scores through three games. Under center, quarterback Garrett DeForest hasn’t had to throw much, putting the ball in the air just eight times, but he has rushed 10 times for 45 yards and a score after missing the majority of the Belchertown game with an injured shoulder.
Easthampton brings its Wing-T offense to South Deerfield, with a fierce running back duo in Jacob Neumann and Marcus O’Meally to stop.
The Red Hawks will have to be weary of the speed of the home-run hitter O’Meally, who showed last week against Greenfield he can take it to the house on any carry. Against the Wave, he carried the ball just three times but racked up 110 yards and two scores. Neumann is the workhorse, rushing for 81 yards on 14 carries in the win over Greenfield.
Easthampton won last year’s game, 29-20.
Monument Mt. at FC Tech, 7
The host Eagles look to get into the win column for the first time this season after an 0-2 start, and they’ll welcome the Spartans (2-1, 1-0) for Franklin Tech’s Intercounty League opener.
Through two games, the Franklin Tech defense has not been the problem, surrendering just 13.5 points per game. But the team will need to get its offense going after a stagnant start to the season. The Eagles scored 12 points in their opener against Mohawk Trail but were held off the board last week in a 12-0 loss to Chicopee.
Ryan Bergmann is the bell cow for the Eagles. The junior has rushed for 205 yards this season but has yet to find the end zone. Franklin Tech has tried to establish the passing game, as Owen Bashaw has tossed the ball 27 times but only completed nine of them. He’ll look to get the passing attack going through Donte Rosewarne and Colby Mailloux, who have combined for seven catches.
Monument Mountain deploys a rush-heavy option attack, keeping three players in the backfield nearly every play. Quarterback Hunter DeGrenier is a threat to keep the ball himself on any play, as he showed against Athol. In last week’s game against the Red Raiders, DeGrenier took off for a 75-yard touchdown scamper and a 48-yard touchdown run in the Spartans’ 31-12 win.
The teams haven’t met since 2014, when the Spartans rolled to a 40-8 victory.
Mohawk Trail
at Pathfinder, 7
Undefeated Mohawk Trail (2-0, 1-0) takes to the road for the first time tonight against Pathfinder (0-2) at St. Joseph’s Park in Thorndike. It’s the Tri-County League opener for the Pioneers, while the visiting Warriors opened their TCL slate with a 37-6 thumping of Smith Voke a week ago.
To say Pathfinder has yet to find its sea legs this fall would be an understatement. The Pioneers have been outscored by a 105-7 margin through two games (56-0 loss to Hoosac Valley, 49-7 loss to Quaboag).
The Warriors, on the other hand, have allowed just 18 points in two wins, and their offense was rolling last week against the Vikings behind junior quarterback Shawn Davenport. The signal caller accounted for five touchdowns in the victory, throwing for three and rushing for two more. He’s the top passer in Franklin County to this point in the season, throwing for 268 yards and three touchdowns while completing 14 passes — all tops in the area.
The offense has weapons, whether it’s tailback Evan Shippee (134 yards through two games) or receivers Matt Pollen (six catches, 82 yards) and Jaden Whiting (46 yards, two touchdowns). Add in a sizable offensive line, and the Warriors enter Thorndike with the ability to make another emphatic statement.
In last year’s meeting, the Warriors ran to a 38-20 win in Buckland as Shippee rushed for 189 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown and Davenport threw to Cam Lococo for two scores and ran for a third.
