Dominant 'D' Lifts Lee to 7-0, League Title
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Lee football team was up 28-0 late in the third quarter when South Hadley finally got its offense in gear.
But the Wildcats defense made sure the Tigers stalled out, and Lee (7-0) went on to continue its perfect season with a 28-0 win that secured a Suburban North championship.
After Lee scored its fourth TD on a 65-yard completion from David Kirchner to Gabe Ranzoni with 4 minutes, 6 seconds left in the third, South Hadley finally gave its fans a glimmer of hope.
The Tigers took advantage of a 15-yard penalty on a Lee kickoff and a 16-yard kick return to start a possession at the plus-45 and drove to the 10 for a first-and-goal when Lee coach Tom Salinetti decided to call a timeout.
First down was an incomplete pass. Then Blake Hoff stuffed a South Hadley runner for a 3-yard gain. On third down, Noah Hambley (49 yards rushing) managed a 2-yard gain to set up fourth-and-goal from the 5.
That’s when Jaydee Reber burst through for a sack to end the scoring threat.
“Awesome,” Reber said of Lee posting its second straight shutout and fourth of the season. “It’s their Senior Night, so that was our big goal. So when we’re up, 28-0, that was our goal – just keep a goose egg on the scoreboard.
“That’s what we were fighting for, and don’t lay off the gas.”
Lee has allowed just 27 points in its seven wins, an average of fewer than four points per game. For the top-ranked team in the commonwealth in Division 8, its least dominant performance defensively came on the road at Hoosac Valley, at the time the second-ranked team in the state, and that was a 26-14 Lee win.
The Wildcats set the tone right out of the gate.
South Hadley got the ball first and started its drive near midfield, but a tackle for a 1-year loss by Reber and a tackle for 6-yard loss by Mason Lucy forced the Tigers into a three-and-out.
A bad snap on their punt attempt gave Lee the ball at the plus-21, and three plays later, Reber was in the end zone with the first of his three touchdowns.
He finished the night with 106 yards rushing while his brother Dawson earned 72 yards on the ground.
Lee was not able to do anything with its next two possessions but went 56 yards on eight plays – including a 30-yard run by Dawson Reber – in the second quarter to go ahead, 14-0 at half-time.
The Wildcats needed just three plays – a 17-yard run by Dawson Reber and runs of 8 and 35 yards by Jaydee – to go 60 yards with its first possession of the second half. Dawson Reber’s two-point conversion pushed the lead to 22-0. The knockout blow then came before the end of the third when Kirchner found Ranzoni deep to the right side for the game’s final score.
The last gasp for the Tigers – after Jaydee Reber’s red-zone sack – came early in the fourth when it reached the Lee 31, but on third-and-7, Kirchner picked off a pass at the 9 with 8:57 left.
Lee’s offense ate up the next 7 minutes, 25 seconds of game time to effectively end it.
With one week left in the regular season, Lee is 4-0 in the league. Only Hoosac Valley (6-1, 3-1) is close, but the Wildcats have the head-to-head tie-breaker.
Only a road game at Taconic on Halloween night stands between Lee and an expected high berth in the state tournament. Salinetti Friday sounded like a coach who is not worried about any of the Wildcats looking to November.
“Our goals, at the beginning of the season, included an undefeated league championship,” he said. “I’m pretty sure the math works out that we’re league champs right now, but the undefeated part is what’s important.
“And we’ve seen a lot of tape on Taconic. They’re a good, physical football team. Their record might not indicate it, but they’re a solid football team.”