GREENFIELD — The Greenfield football team struggled to contain a fierce South Hadley rushing attack on Friday at Vets Field.
The Tigers leaned on senior Owen Dawson and junior Julius Hebenth on the ground throughout Friday’s contest and had much success, Dawson gaining 106 yards and finding the end zone four times while Hebenth rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively South Hadley limited the Green Wave to just 29 yards of offense in the first half and didn’t allow them to get on the scoreboard in the final 24 minutes of action, with the Tigers walking away with a 36-0 independent victory.
“We were down after last week with the loss to Wahconah but getting the win is a boost for these guys,” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said. “Owen, Julius and Marty [Loughrey], they all worked their butts off today. The line blocked well for them and got things moving.”
It was Dawson who stirred the drink for the Tigers (1-1), as it felt like he was set to break off a big run every time he touched it.
In fact, he nearly did. The senior gained those 106 yards on just seven carries, with two other potential touchdown runs called back due to penalties.
“We got beat by a good football team,” Greenfield coach Mike Kuchieski said. “[Dawson is one] of the better backs I’ve seen in a long time. There’s nothing to hang our heads about.”
The Green Wave went three-and-out on their opening possession, and following a 13-yard run from Dawson and a five-yard scamper from Loughrey, Dawson took a handoff 23 yards into the end zone, weaving his way through the Greenfield defense before using his speed to get to the pylon for the score. Loughrey barreled in for the two-point try to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead with 8:02 to play in the first.
Following a second Green Wave punt, South Hadley took over at its own 39. Noah Marion broke off runs of 12 and 16 yards, Hebenth had a 17 yard run before Dawson took a toss play 17 yards into the end zone. The two point try was no good, with South Hadley leading 14-0 with 2:38 to play in the first.
The Tigers recovered a fumble on the ensuing Green Wave possession and drove it into the red zone. South Hadley found the end zone two plays in a row, but the first was called back on a hold on a Dawson run and the second, a touchdown pass from Burke Belsky, was called back due to an illegal formation.
That turned out to be big, as Belsky later found Loughrey in the flat, who ran his way to the Greenfield end zone but put the ball on the ground before crossing the goal line, giving the Green Wave the ball at their own 1.
Greenfield was once again forced to punt, with South Hadley taking over at the Green Wave 26. Three plays later Dawson darted in on a jet sweep from four yards out, and following the unsuccessful try, the Tigers led 20-0 with 4:02 left in the half.
South Hadley had a chance to add to the lead before the half but Belsky threw a pass over the middle in the end zone that was picked off by Greenfield’s Eric Martineau, his third interception in just two weeks.
“We have stuff to clean up,” Couture said. “We put the ball on the ground I think three times today. It really should have been two interceptions. Greenfield played tough defense on us and were reading us well, especially on those pass plays. They’ll be a tough team down the road.”
The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and six plays later Dawson broke a trio of tackles and juked his way into the end zone from 34 yards out, with Hebenth’s two point try successful to put South Hadley ahead, 28-0, with 8:13 to play in the quarter.
The Tigers punched it in one last time with 7:16 to play in the game, with Hebenth running it in from four yards out.
“They’re great players,” Couture said of his running backs. “We have a nice looking backfield with a lot of options, including our quarterback.”
Greenfield running back Angel Politis was limited to just 20 yards rushing. Keegan Fisher completed a pair of passes for 18 yards while Caleb Murray led the team with 22 yards rushing from the quarterback position in the second half.
Next up for the Tigers is a showdown on the road against Chicopee Comp while Greenfield heads down to South Deerfield to take on Frontier.
“A lot of their kids do a lot of stuff together over the summer and it shows with how together they are as a team,” Kuchieski said of South Hadley. “We’re not going to hang our heads. We’ll get ready for the next one. [A final score of] 36-0, we got beat but we tried the best we could. What are you going to do? We got beat by a good football team and we’ll move on.”