NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Gabriel Tomasi ran for two second-half touchdowns to lead Franklin Tech to a 22-14, come-from-behind victory over McCann Tech Saturday on opening day for both squads.
The Eagles overcame a 14-0 second quarter deficit with three straight touchdowns and a game-clinching safety on McCann Tech’s final offensive down.
“We’re young,” Hornets coach Tony Skiffington said. “That’s what stuck out to me. We made a lot of young mistakes.
“We’ve got 22 freshmen and sophomores out here, and most of them are playing.”
McCann Tech road its youthful experience to a touchdown the first time it touched the ball.
After a short kickoff and a 10-yard return by ninth-grader Parker Hart, the Hornets started on their own 44.
They needed just five plays to go 66 yards, capped by a 30-yard scamper by senior Seneca Bolte. The run for a point-after failed, and the Hornets settled for a 6-0 lead.
McCann Tech then generated the game’s first turnover when senior Brandon Demers intercepted a third-down pass at the Hornets’ 20 to stop Franklin Tech’s first drive, and the two teams traded fruitless possessions until the midway point of the second quarter.
That is when the Hornets defense pressured Tomasi into an intentional grounding call on fourth-down at midfield, and the penalty gave McCann Tech possession on the plus-23.
Four plays later, junior Troy Wnuk was in the end zone after a 3-yard run, and senior QB Seth Farnsworth hit classmate Jason Knapp for the two-point conversion to make it a two-score game.
McCann Tech overcame a first-quarter in which it committed four penalties for 35 yards to build that lead.
But Franklin Tech responded with a 64-yard drive on its next possession. Eagles freshman Josiah Little scored from the 12 on his way to a 60-yard rushing day to make it 14-6 with 33 seconds left until half.
The Eagles followed up a score on the last meaningful possession of the first half with 56-yard drive to open the second after Little’s 29-yard kickoff return to start the third quarter.
Sophomore Tomasi finished the drive with a 1-yard plunge, but Franklin Tech’s two-point conversion try failed again, and McCann Tech clung to a 14-12 lead.
It was still a two-point margin early in the fourth when Wnuk made a stop on a fourth-and-4 deep in McCann Tech’s territory with 7:55 on the clock.
But the Hornets managed just 7 yards on offense and were forced to kick the ball back. Following a short punt, Franklin Tech ground out a seven-play, 25-yard drive that ended in Tomasi’s 2-yard plunge to make it 18-14 with 1:40 left to play. This time, the Eagles converted the two-pointer to give them a six-point lead.
McCann Tech allowed the ensuing kickoff to dribble down to its 8 before they were able to down it, and after two straight incompletions, the Eagles sacked Farnsworth in the end zone for a safety to provide the final margin of victory.
McCann Tech will look for its first win on Friday when it goes to Mahar.
