H.S. football: Franklin Tech trounces Athol, 44-14

TURNERS FALLS — Thursday night’s Intercounty League North football game offered up the rare spectacle of a 98-yard scoring play — not once, but twice, and one for each team.

Immediately after a Franklin Tech interception at its own 2-yard line, the Eagles’ Brady Gancarz took a pitch and swept down the left sideline for a 98-yarder just before the end of the first quarter. That, plus a 2-point conversion run by Wyatt Whitman, put Tech in front of Athol 22-0 at the time.

The Bears answered on their first series of the third quarter, after Franklin Tech gave up the ball on downs at the Athol 2. Cam Cox hit Liam Flynn on a swing pass, and Flynn turned it into a 98-yard catch-and-run along the left sideline for the visitors’ first score of the evening.

Those were the definite eye-poppers in an otherwise dominant display for the Eagles, who took the measure of the Bears 44-14 in a game that featured a running clock for the entirety of the second half.

Tech (6-1, 3-0 IL North) bounced back from its first loss of the season last week, while Athol fell to 0-7, 0-3 in league play.

“The kids really battled and brought good energy. It’s a great bounce-back week for us,” said Eagles coach Joe Gamache. “It was healthy competition on the field. It wasn’t chippy, kids on both sides were helping each other up. Credit to the Athol kids, they battled to the end and put up a couple late.”

Gancarz’s 98-yard burst accounted for about half of his 199 yards in eight carries, three of them going for touchdowns. Whitman ran for 73 yards and a score, while Mason Bassett threw TD passes to Cole Bassett and Hunter Donahue as Tech piled up its 44-0 halftime lead. The Eagles ran for 341 yards and finished the night with 398 yards of offense.

Cox completed 6-of-17 passes for 148 yards with two interceptions for the Bears. Five of those completions went to Flynn for 143 yards. Cox also added 33 yards on the ground, including a 30-yard run for his team’s second touchdown, as Athol put up 194 total yards.

“For our kids to have those moments, even in a defeat, that’s what keeps them going,” said Athol coach Josh Talbot. “It fuels them to remember why they’re here and why they want to do it, and what we’re building to in the future. Guys keep coming back to work and I’m really proud of them for that.”

Both teams are back at it Friday, Oct. 30, with Franklin Tech hosting Mahar and Athol traveling to Greenfield, each for 7 p.m. games.