H.S. football: Franklin Tech decimates Greenfield, 44-6

MONTAGUE — It seemed impossible to stop the Franklin County Technical School football team on Friday night, as it dominated Greenfield in Montague. The Green Wave (1-4) didn’t have any answers for the Eagles (5-0) offensive attack, as the home team scored on every drive, going 7-for-7.

The scoring barrage started early for Franklin Tech, as it received the opening kickoff. Less than three minutes later, running back Brady Gancarz rushed up the middle for a seven-yard touchdown, giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead, which it would never relinquish, eventually winning, 44-6.

“We had some guys back this week that had been missing, they had been a little banged up,” Franklin Tech head coach Joe Gamache said. “We were really trying to get those guys established a little bit and get our offensive line plugging away again. We have quite a few athletes and we don’t want to be one-dimensional.”

One of those returning players was Gancarz, who had a statement game in his return to action. Coming into Friday with three touchdowns on the year, Gancarz nearly doubled his season total against Greenfield, finding the end zone five times over the 48 minutes of action.

With over 150 rushing yards in the game, Gancarz was given opportunities to run the ball outside of the red zone. Of his touchdown runs, only one was over 10 yards, that being a 15 yard rush that made the score 30-0.

“He’s an explosive back, I think the offensive line does a great job of opening up holes for him, but all in all, it was great to have him back,” Gamache said. “He was seeing the field well … he made some nice cuts too.”

The Green Wave’s first and only score of the game came late in the third quarter, with Franklin Tech ahead 36-0 at the time. After struggling to move the ball offensively all game (their first first down coming with two minutes remaining in the first half), good field position off a kickoff set the visitors up with their best opportunity to score.

After a 39-yard rush from running back Kymel Ramsey, quarterback Gavin Arsenault kept the ball himself at the goal line, running in for the 1-yard touchdown. The following 2-point conversion was no good, which was a problem that plagued both sides on Friday.

In total, the two teams went 1-for-8 in 2-point attempts, with the Eagles not having a successful 2-point conversion until their final attempt of the game. Nolyn Stafford converted on that final attempt, running the ball after receiving the snap in a wildcat.

Stafford scored the touchdown that proceeded the successful 2-point attempt on a 1-yard rush, and scored a touchdown earlier in the game on a 36-yard pass from quarterback Mason Bassett.

“We’re going to have to clean things up on our conversions,” Gamache said. “If we’re going to make a postseason run, we can’t leave points on the board like that, so that’ll be a point of emphasis this week [in practice].”

There was just one turnover on Friday, with it coming at the end of the game. With the clock winding down and Greenfield on offense, the ball popped loose and the fumble was recovered by defensive back Matthew McIntyre.

Up next for Franklin Tech is a trip to Hull, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. The Green Wave return home for a matchup against Mahar, also on Friday, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

“We’re fortunate, in that up front, we have a lot more upper classmen. Greenfield’s young up front, those kids are working hard,” Gamache said. “If they stick together, they’re going to be us in a couple of years. They’re going to have that senior-laden line. We’re just fortunate that we’re a little older and a little more experienced.”