ATHOL — For the first time since Thanksgiving Day in 2022, the Mahar football team won its matchup against rival Athol, with 15 first half points proving enough, defeating the Bears (0-4) on their home turf, 21-12.
It was a ground-heavy game, with a total of two complete passes between the two teams. One of those passes came from the Senators’ (2-2) Freeland Ringer on a touchdown pass to senior running back Carter Hardy, which put the visitors up 15 following a successful 2-point conversion, also to Hardy with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.
“One hundred percent, it means more,” Mahar head coach Kyle Newton said on beating Athol. “It’s the first win for these varsity guys since 2022, so it definitely means a little bit more. They put in a lot of work during the week [and] the weeks leading up to this.”
The other two touchdowns scored by the Senators came on the ground, with senior running back Heyrlackmung Calypso scoring both. Calypso’s first score came with just around a minute left in the first quarter, fighting through contact for the four-yard touchdown. His second score came early in the fourth, when Mahar once again found itself on the precipice of the end zone. A one-yard carry gave the Senators another six points, giving them 21 on the night. A missed extra point kept the score stable.
“We knew we could out-physical them,” Newton said of the run-heavy offense. “I put it on the guys, I gave them a challenge. … We only threw the ball two or three times. The challenge was to out-physical them, and they met the challenge.”
On the drive following Mahar’s second score of the first half, not much was working for the Athol offense. A five-yard rush, an incomplete pass off the helmet of Vincent Ithier that was negated by a holding penalty and a big loss set the home team up with third-and-long with less than 30 seconds remaining.
This all changed when junior quarterback Camden Cox found the outside on a keeper with blockers in front of him, taking the ball 63 yards to the end zone with 8.3 seconds remaining, making the score 15-6. Following this score, the Bears attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff which was recovered by Mahar, sending both teams to the locker room.
Athol attempted several onside kicks throughout the game, however none were successful. In opening the second half, the Senators attempted an onside kick which they recovered.
“Our onsides gave them fits,” Athol head coach Joshua Talbot said. “I know we didn’t get any of them but it definitely gave them fits and we felt like we were still in that thing all the way until the end.”
The Bears’ best drive of the day was also their last drive of the day. With just over 11 minutes left in the game, the home team found themselves starting the possession at their own seven yard line, before a false start sent them back another three yards.
Over the next 10 minutes, Athol drove down the field, going end zone to end zone, giving itself a fighting chance in the waning minutes. An injury forced Cox out of the game for a few snaps, replaced by sophomore running back Logan Lashua at quarterback. Eventually, Cox came back into the game and found junior Liam Flynn on a toe-tapper in the back of the end zone. The ensuing 2-point conversion was unsuccessful, as was the attempted onside kick.
“I saw a team that didn’t quit,” Talbot said. “We were still battling. We liked what we had for the first 2-point conversion, we liked what we had for the second one. We didn’t make a good decision, but we were trying to grind, and like ‘Let’s make sure we give ourselves a chance on the kickoff.'”
Up next for Athol is David Prouty on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in Athol. Mahar returns home, facing Ware on the same date and time.
“We’re doing the right things,” Newton said. “We’re going to keep doing that, and it’s only going to get harder. Every week gets harder.”
