Game of the Week: Thursday Rematch for Hoosac-Pittsfield

ADAMS, Mass. -- Local high school football fans do not have to wait until Friday to get their weekly fix this week.

 

But one of the teams involved in Thursday's Week 3 opener has been waiting a very long time for this kickoff.

 

"We circled that in the winter - in the off-season, we want that one bad," Hoosac Valley senior Jameson Coughlan said last Friday of this Thursday's rematch with Pittsfield High.

 

Last fall, Pittsfield won the Western Massachusetts Divison 5 title with a 13-12 victory at Hoosac Valley High School.

 

The Hurricanes get their next shot at the Generals on Thursday at Renfrew Field in a 6 p.m. contest.

 

The one-point, season-ending loss -- which turned on a disputed non-fumble call on Pittsfield's fourth-quarter game-winning drive -- was a motivating factor for Hoosac Valley throughout the off-season and it was the first thing on the Hurricanes' minds after improving to 2-0 on Friday at Lee.

 

"I didn't even get to get it out, and they were talking about it," Poirot said. "They know it's a short week, and they've got to be ready for PHS. They know it's a big game for us."

 

Down in the Shire City, they also can't wait for Thursday night, but the buildup does not have quite the same feel.

 

"This is the most important game of Week 3 for us," Pittsfield coach Brian Jezewski said after practice on Tuesday. "I tell my guys to stay where their feet are and focus on the moment. We just want to get better. Today being Tuesday, we want to get better on Wednesday, and things will take care of themselves on Thursday night."

 

The Generals (2-0) were better defensively last week than they were in Week 1's overtime win over Taconic. Pittsfield went from allowing 20 points in its opener (14 in regulation) to pitching a shutout last Friday against Mount Greylock.

 

Jezewski credited the return from injury of seniors Giovanni Figueroa and Mason Papiro as well as the natural progression of the team from week to week.

 

Thursday could be the toughest test yet for the PHS defense. Hoosac Valley comes in with county's most prolific ground attack in the early going. The three-headed monster of Brendan Ellsworth, Avery Hall and Matt Koperniak has rushed for 619 yards and eight touchdowns in two games.

 

For PHS, Sam Sala and Figueroa combined for 169 yards in last week's defensive slugfest against Mount Greylock.

 

Those Mounties, by the way, will bookend a three-day "weekend" of high school football action when they host Drury in a rare Saturday evening affair in Williamstown. Mount Greylock (0-2) and Drury (0-2) each will be looking for its first win.

 

That is the only Saturday game on the schedule as the bulk of the action happens beneath the Friday night lights. Lee (1-1) goes out of league to take on Greenfield (1-1) in a battle of the two teams who have beaten Drury this fall.

 

Wahconah (1-1) looks to bounce back from its first loss to a Western Mass team since 2012 when it plays its first league game of the year at Wahconah Park against Taconic (1-1).

 

McCann Tech looks to run its unbeaten streak against Western Mass foes to 13 straight when it travels to Ware (2-0) in one of the week's most intriguing games. McCann won its first two games by a combined 68-27 (though most of points allowed last week against Pioneer came when the eventual 40-20 win was already decided). Ware hammered its first two opponents by a combined 95-14.

 

Monument Mountain (1-1) gets an extra week to prepare for next week's meeting with Wahconah in Great Barrington.

 

Speaking of preparation time, both Pittsfield and Hoosac lose a little this week with the "TNF" game. But Jezewski said the short week does not create as many problems as one might think.

 

"We're used to it," he said. "We've done it the last couple of years. Playing Saturday [the week before] is tough. But with a Friday night game, we watched films on Saturday, Sunday off, Monday regular practice and [Tuesday is] our Wednesday."