The Intercounty League North Division title hangs in the balance tonight when Easthampton High School pays a visit to South Deerfield to take on Frontier Regional School at 7.
An Easthampton win would clinch the IL North title for the Eagles, who made a return to the league this season after asking for relief from playing in a tougher division last year. A loss would pull the Eagles back into a tie with Frontier atop the league standings with one loss apiece.
That’s just one of six games featuring local teams on tap for this weekend and one of four on Friday night. Also on Friday night, Greenfield High School looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it travels to an Athol High School team trending upward. Mohawk Trail Regional High School hosts a Tri-County League tilt at 7 against a Ware High School team that continues to build its case as the top team in western Mass. Division VIII. The final game of the evening takes place in Orange where Mahar Regional School has a chance to play spoiler to a Mt. Greylock Regional High School team battling it out for one of the playoff spots in Division VIII.
A pair of interesting games take place locally on Saturday. Pioneer Valley Regional School continues to fight for its playoff life when it takes on a Palmer High School team at 1 p.m. that is also battling for its playoff life in the Division VII field. The other Saturday game may not have playoff implications (even though both teams are still alive), but it is for the mythical Powertown Cup as Turners Falls High School makes the stone’s throw trip to Franklin County Technical School at 1 p.m.
Easthampton High School is coming off a lopsided, 38-6, loss to Ware High School, dropping the Eagles to 4-2. That came after two weeks of Easthampton playing close games with Athol and Greenfield, both of which they managed to win in the fourth quarter after being tied or trailing.
Still, the Eagles have been one of the teams all other IL North squads have looked up to this season, as the team has yet to lose a league game. Easthampton rolls into South Deerfield with a 4-0 record in the IL North and will wrap up the league title with a win over Frontier.
The Red Hawks (5-1) appear ready for the challenge. Since losing their only game of the season by the difference of a two-point conversion in overtime to Greenfield back on the second week of the season, the Red Hawks have been red hot.
Frontier’s four-game winning streak entering tonight has been due in part to the offensive output of running back Aaron Landry, who has rushed for over 250 yards in three of the four games and enters the night with 983 yards on the season, meaning he is 17 shy of the 1,000-yard mark. Landry also leads all area players in scoring with 14 yards.
Landry has not done it alone. Backfield mate Steven Worthley has been potent as well, rushing for 90 or more yards in each of the past four games, including one game over 250 yards. He has scored nine touchdowns, tying him for third in the area with Greenfield’s RJ Byrd. Bryce Dobosz has seen his number of carries dwindle from the first few weeks, but he has taken over as the blocking back.
Quarterback Matt Hildreth has not been called on to throw the ball a ton but he has been accurate when he does, completing 19-of-40 passes for 308 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Landry continues to lead the team in receptions with seven for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Easthampton’s main form of attack comes in a ground game that has several weapons. Ish Akanour, Sopie Pek, David Helems and Justin Malek are each used by the Eagles’ coaching staff, helping keep the players fresh.
If Easthampton is going to win this game, the X-factor could be Nick Pellegrini, the Eagles’ quarterback, who has been solid this season when called upon to throw the ball. That’s important because if Frontier has shown a weakness, it’s been in the passing game, where the Red Hawks have continually seen opposing quarterbacks pile up big numbers. Frontier has allowed three local quarterbacks — Owen Phelps (Greenfield), Sam Paul (Mahar) and Kyle Dodge (Turners Falls) — to all throw for season highs in yards this season, while Seth Aldrich (Franklin Tech) was just a few yards off his season high against Frontier. Part of that is because opposing teams have trailed, but it has been a point of concern during the winning streak.
If recent history serves as any indication, the game will be close. Frontier has won three straight games against Easthampton in each of the past three seasons, each by four points or less. The Red Hawks won a shootout last season, 42-40, and captured an 18-14 win in 2015, and a 22-20 win in 2014. The last time the Eagles defeated the Red Hawks was in 2013 when Easthampton clobbered Frontier, 46-0.
Here’s a look at the rest of the schedule:
Greenfield at Athol
It could be interesting matchup between IL North teams at O’Brien Field in Athol tonight, as Greenfield (3-2, 3-2) travels to play Athol (1-5, 0-4) at 7 p.m. … Despite an 0-4 league record, the Red Raiders have played better of late, and could pose a challenge in the Wave’s path toward a potential Division VIII postseason berth. … Greenfield has had two weeks to prepare for Athol, coming off a bye following back-to-back losses to Franklin Tech and Easthampton after a 3-0 start. … The Red Raiders fell into an early hole last week against Franklin Tech and nearly climbed all the way out before falling, 28-20, in Turners Falls. … These two teams have split the previous six meetings, and Athol has won two in a row after lopsided victories in 2016 (40-8) and 2015 (32-0). Greenfield won three in a row from 2012-2014, with the Raiders winning in 2011. … Greenfield junior tailback RJ Byrd is in great shape to break the 1,000 yard mark for the second year in a row tonight. Byrd enters with 958 yards and nine touchdowns through five games. He ran for 86 yards and a TD in last year’s meeting. … Athol’s Robbie Nelson ran for all three of his team’s touchdowns last week against FC Tech, and he’s scored six touchdowns on the year. … Greenfield quarterback Owen Phelps leads the Recorder-area in completion percentage (54-percent) this fall, and he’ll likely be called upon to make a few big throws on the road. … Tonight marks the final scheduled regular-season home game for Athol, which is on the road at Frontier next week and travels to Mahar for Thanksgiving Day.
Ware at Mohawk
High-powered Ware comes to Pollard Field in Buckland tonight, and the undefeated Indians (6-0, 4-0) have showed no signs of slowing down in what has been a dominant regular-season so far. … Ware’s numbers this season are simply staggering. The last undefeated team in the Tri-County League, the Indians have outscored opponents 285-18, allowing just three touchdowns all season. The squad has posted three shutouts, and is fresh off a convincing 38-6 win over IL North leader Easthampton High School last week. … Mohawk (3-3, 3-1) got back into the win column last week, holding off McCann Technical School, 24-8, for its third TCL victory of the season. The Warriors are just one game behind Ware in the league standings. … Ware tailback Hunter Millier has rushed for 657 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, while quarterback Ryan Johnson is a dual-threat option with nine rushing touchdowns and four passing TDs. … Mohawk senior Seth Hoynoski burst onto the scene last week in the victory against McCann Tech. In just his second-ever football game, Hoynoski carried the ball 16 times for 175 yards and a touchdown. … The Warriors are 2-2 at home this season. … Mohawk has won two of the last three meetings (2013, 2014), though Ware won the most recent meeting in 2015, 41-28. The teams did not meet last year.
Mount Greylock at Mahar
Another team coming off a bye week, Mahar (2-3) is riding high after edging Turners Falls two weeks ago, and the Senators welcome a very difficult opponent in Mount Greylock (5-1) to the Woodward Complex in Orange. … The visiting Mounties have won five games in a row since a Week 1 loss to Hoosac Valley High School, including last week’s 54-26 victory over Ludlow High School. … Greylock is averaging 40.7 points per game. … Mahar has already bettered its win total from last season (1-9). … The two teams met in last year’s season-opener in Williamstown, with Greylock capturing a 35-8 victory. … Mahar tailback Jon Gariepy had a huge game in the win over Turners Falls two weeks ago. He carried the ball 24 times for 172 yards and a touchdown. … Greylock tailback Cal Messina is the offensive player to watch for the Mounties. He’s amassed 748 yards to go with eight touchdowns on the ground, an average of 149.6 yards per game. … The Senators have lost five in a row to Berkshire County schools, with their last victory coming in a 19-16 win over Lee High School in 2013.
Turners Falls at FC Tech
The battle for the Powertown highlights Booster Day for Franklin Tech (3-3, 2-2), which looks to ride the momentum from last week’s 28-20 win over Athol. … Turners (2-4, 1-3) led 14-12 after one quarter against Frontier last week before the Hawks outscored them 21-7 the rest of the way. … Turners has won four of the last five meetings in this series, including a dominant 57-0 victory last year at home. FC Tech last defeated Turners in 2010 (22-6). … The Eagles will rely on the backfield tandem of Spencer Telega and Bailey Young on Saturday, as the duo has combined for 950 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns through six games. … Tech quarterback Seth Aldrich had a strong outing last week against Athol, completing 6 of his 10 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. … While the Turners ground game is led by Marcus Sanders (468 yards, 6 TDs), quarterback Kyle Dodge has been red-hot over his last three games. Dodge has thrown for seven touchdowns in the last three weeks, tossing multiple TDs in every game. He threw for 251 yards and three scores against Frontier, giving him 577 yards and a seven touchdown to just two interceptions ratio on the year. … Tech is 1-1 at home this season, and it closes out its regular-season slate next week with another home game against Mahar. … Turners gashed FC Tech for nearly 400 yards on the ground in last year’s meeting.
Palmer at Pioneer
Some postseason stakes are on the line in Northfield, as Palmer (4-2, 4-1) visits Pioneer (5-1, 4-1) in a matchup of teams trying to punch tickets to the Division VII and Division VIII playoffs, respectively. … Pioneer is hot off its first shutout of the season, when it blanked Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School, 39-0, a week ago. The Panthers have lost just once this year (Ware High School), and they’ve won four in a row. … Pioneer fell on the road in last year’s meeting between these two teams, 14-7, and Palmer has won three in a row in the series dating back to the Panthers’ last victory in 2013. … The emergence of running back Wyatt Keith continued last week, as he scored two touchdowns on the ground to give him 10 in just four games as a starter at the position. Keith has rushed for a team-high 408 yards during that span. … While Keith set the tone on the ground, quarterback Scott Perlberg had arguably his best outing of the season in the win over Pathfinder. The QB threw for 152 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Karl Wheeler who leads Recorder-area receivers with 319 yards and four TDs on the season. … Palmer has lost twice on the season (Frontier, Ware), though it has won two games in a row, both on the road. … Kyle Mastalerz leads the team in rushing with nearly 400 yards and seven touchdowns.