Top-Ranked Lee Rolls to 3-0
LEE, Mass. – Dawson Reber ran for 155 yards and a touchdown and caught two touchdown passes Friday to lead the Lee football team to a 41-0 win over Pittsfield.
The Wildcats, who came into the game as the top-ranked team in the commonwealth in Division 8, ran their record to 3-0 while outscoring their opponents by a combined 131-6.
A week after beating Wahconah without putting the ball in the air once, Lee QB David Kirchner threw for 68 yards, including the two scores.
The Wildcats opened the game with a short field and cashed in right away.
After stopping the Generals on fourth down at midfield, Lee needed just three plays to find the end zone – the last 29 yards on a run by Reber.
Pittsfield answered with its best drive of the game, picking up a pair of first downs and driving to the Lee 27 before back-to-back incomplete passes stalled the drive with 4 minutes, 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
Lee then opened up the playbook for a 72-yard march that ended on the first play of the second quarter.
Kirchner went 4-for-5 through the air on the drive, accounting for 45 yards.
His 22-yard toss to Reber on fourth-and-8 gave Lee a 12-0 lead, and a 2-point conversion from Jaydee Reber (49 yards from scrimmage) made it a 14-point margin.
“I knew coming into this that we were going to try to mainly run the ball,” Dawson Reber said. “Mainly try to attack them at the weak point. Obviously, they’re a tough team. The score says something, but we were in a dogfight the whole time.
“It was a hard-fought win, great win for opening night. But tomorrow we’re going to get this over with and move on to Holyoke next week here.”
After playing its first two games on the road, Friday marked the home opener for Lee, which has just three home games on its regular season schedule this fall.
Another short field off another fourth-down stop led to Lee’s third touchdown, a 40-yard drive that ended in Jaydee Reber’s 3-yard run. Kodie Mendoza’s extra point gave the home team a 21-0 lead at half-time.
Pittsfield (1-2) caught a break to open the second half when it recovered an onside kick at the plus-46.
But again Lee’s defense stood tall, not allowing a first down and getting its offense the ball on its own 37 after denying the Generals on a fourth-and-1.
Lee used a couple of Dawson Reber runs to get to the 18 and a 17-yard completion from Kirchner to Reber to get to the goal line. Rebert then went the final yard on the ground to make it 27-0 early in the third.
The Wildcats scored on their next two possessions – 10-yard run by Jaydee Reber and a 4-yard run by Kirchner – to close out the scoring.
“That’s a really good football team, a well-coached football team,” Pittsfield coach Brian Jezewski said of Lee. “The Reber boys are as good as advertised. That’s a good football team, and they’re going to do really well.”
Jezewski’s young team, meanwhile, needs a little more seasoning to be able to go the distance against the likes of Lee.
Ninth-grade starting QB Ben Tobler-Campoli showed toughness and some touch, completing four passes for 17 yards in the third quarter, and Xavier Southard ran for 90 yards.
But Pittsfield was not able to string together first downs or get off the field defensively against the potent Lee offense.
And as the game wore on, Lee’s advantage grew.
“We’re going to fight for the first half, the third quarter,” Jezewski said. “I have a veteran [coaching] staff, and they’re doing a really good job of keeping these guys invested.
“It’s hard to get punched in the face over and over again. And, for our older guys, we’re used to being the guys punching people in the face. And it’s a difficult thing. But I’m proud of our guys. Our guys are doing a really good job. They’re really, really working hard, and I’m really impressed with how hard our guys work.”
Pittsfield hosts Wahconah on Friday.