McCann Tech Falls to Pathfinder
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Trevor Alexander ran for 111 yards, and Grayson Griswold ran for 93 yards and threw for a touchdown Friday as the Pathfinder football team beat McCann Tech, 32-0.
The Pioneers dominated in the run game all night. Griswold completed just two passes, but one was a 4-yard hookup with Jarrett Skowyra for a second-quarter touchdown.
Griswold’s 8-yard run on Pathfinder’s opening possession gave the visitors a 6-0 lead four minutes into the game.
But McCann Tech took the ensuing kickoff and marched 65 yards to the Pioneers’ 7 in a drive that spanned the first and second quarters.
Aidan Ford ran for 20 yards, Anthony Trzcinski ran for 12, and QB Landyn Phillips ran for 11 during the drive, which also benefited from two Pathfinder penalties.
After the Hornets got a first-and-10 at the Pioneers’ 7, Pathfinder’s defense stiffened, holding the hosts to no net yards on three plays and stopping their fourth-down try at the 2.
McCann Tech coach Jon Rochelo agreed that coming up empty after in that possession swung the momentum dramatically to the visitors.
“It deflates because they got to that point where, if we punch it in, it’s a different rhythm,” he said. “It’s like a hole in the ship. It’s just a slow, sinking thing, and I could see it more and more, and we just lost the tempo.
“We’re a team that, I feel like, we’ve got to score first. They’re still working out the kinks with mental toughness. That’s what it comes down to. When you get slapped in the face, it’s hard to pick yourself up.”
Pathfinder took advantage by going 97 yards in nine plays. The biggest chunk was a 39-yard run by Griswold to get to the 4. On first and goal, he found Skowyra for the score to make it 12-0.
On McCann Tech’s next possession, a three-and-out and a bad snap on a punt attempt gave Pathfinder a short field, and three plays later, Griswold was in the end zone on a 5-yard run.
The Pioneers (2-4) opened the second half with a 79-yard Anthony Arventos kickoff return to make it 24-0. Caleb Crumb capped the scoring with a 14-yard run early in the fourth quarter that led to Pathfinder’s only successful two-point conversion and sent the game to running time.
Time is running out for McCann Tech (0-5) in its bid to get on the winning side of the scoreboard. The Hornets finish the regular season by hosting Smith Vocational and Belchertown over the next two Friday nights.
Last year, McCann Tech finished a 2-7 campaign with a pair of wins at home. Rochelo said he does not know how to keep this edition of the Hornets motivated during the week – a theme that emerged before McCann Tech played its first game in September.
“There’s talent here,” he said. “There’s plenty of talent. They just need to work Monday through Thursday, and they don’t do that. I get scarce kids throughout the week, 28, 30 – and then all of a sudden on Friday night, I’ve got 40 on the sideline.
“So we’re dealing with some culture stuff here. They need to snap into it and start believing in it, or they’re going to have the same result every Friday night.”