ORANGE — Mahar’s opening possession Friday night ended with its offense getting stuffed by the Franklin Tech defense on fourth-and-inches, and the Eagles left the Senators little room to breathe from there.
With seven sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception, the Franklin Tech defense imposed its will and flew all over the Woodward Complex. The visitors left town with a 21-0 Intercounty League North victory.
Eagles head coach Joe Gamache said his defense showed up all game and he is hopeful the trend continues the rest of the way.
“They stepped up in a big way,” Gamache said. “We always preach physicality and trying to bring the fight and they did tonight. Hopefully it’s contagious and that’s the way we play the remainder of the season.”
The Eagles offense scuffled to start the game with two consecutive turnover on downs, but the defense forced two turnover on downs of their own. Franklin Tech soon found the end zone on its third possession on a 29-yard touchdown run by senior running back Chad Adams with 2:50 remaining in the half.
Franklin Tech’s defense forced a punt to open the second half and the offense immediately doubled its lead on a four-minute, nine-play touchdown drive capped off by an 8-yard touchdown on a sweep to the right side by freshman running back Josiah Little.
The Eagles coughed up the ball on a fumble in the fourth quarter, but the defense quickly forced a fumble of its own on the very next play, which led to another sustained touchdown drive finished off on a quarterback sneak from sophomore Gabriel Tomasi to put Franklin Tech up 21-0.
Franklin Tech’s offense shared the ball amongst its backfield with Adams rushing for 29 yards, Little with 21 yards and junior running back Ryan Demers with 45 yards in the second half alone.
“A lot better than we’ve been doing, we put in a lot of good effort during practice and it’s shown in the game,” Demers said. “It was a whole, overall team effort. The line did very good blocking, it was everyone.”
The Senators offense threatened in Eagles territory several times, even as starting quarterback Kaleb Lemcke missed a few possessions after taking a hit on the sidelines. Freshman quarterback Morgan Softic came off the bench, completed several passes and orchestrated the offense down the field until Lemcke was able to return.
“Morgan’s ready to go. He’s a young kid, he’s a freshman,” said Mahar head coach Chris Bailey. “Morgan had actually been sick all week – today was his first day back in school – so he did it without a ton of practice which is good. It’s a testament to him for doing his job as a backup.”
Mahar threatened late in the fourth quarter with the ball at the 9-yard line, but a blindside block and an interception closed the game for the Senators.
“We did not play the way that we can play,” Bailey said. “When that happens you’re not going to win many football games.”
Franklin Tech returns home to take on Ware Friday at 7 while Mahar will stay at the Woodward Complex to host rival Athol.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.