Pittsfield Opens with Win over Taconic
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Pittsfield football team started the season on the right foot with a win over Taconic, 24-6, Friday night.
In the past few years, this city rivalry has had some lopsided affairs, with Pittsfield (1-0) coming out on top. Friday’s winner was the same, but, unlike in past years, it was no gimme.
Taconic (0-2), looking to start something new under head coach Justin Bailey, looked really good on its opening drive of the game. It took nearly the whole first quarter for the Thunder to drive the length of the field after starting on its own 20.
It was mainly on the ground between Edward Ferris, Ka’Zahni Daniels, and Hayden Harrington, but they managed an 18-play drive that, unfortunately for Taconic, stalled out just as they got inside the red zone. Pittsfield, playing in its first game of the season, had a bend but don’t break mentality, and it really set the tone for the rest of the game.
“We had a couple of lineman issues early on, but our defensive coaches made some great adjustments,” Pittsfield coach Brian Jazewski said. “They held the ball almost the entire first quarter, but our guys, we have 15-17 first-time football players, and they did a great job. I’m really, really proud of how they responded.”
After getting the big stop, it took the Pittsfield offense a little bit to get on track, being forced to punt on their first series.
The Pittsfield defense was once again up for the task, with Seth Aitken making an alert play and jumping on the loose handoff for a forced turnover. This gave the Generals the ball back in a good position that only took four plays to find the end zone off the back of Xavier Southard, who rushed it in from 4 yards out.
Southard had two touchdown scores on the offensive end while racking up over 140 yards on the ground.
Both teams continued to grind it out on defense, leaving no real room for separation. Pittsfield’s next best chance came right before halftime but ended up in an interception near the end zone by Ben Sykes. Pittsfield went into the break with a one-score lead, hoping to break things open in the second half.
On Pittsfield’s first possession, it took only one play for Southard to find the end zone, this time from 81 yards out on a nice run up the middle to make it 16-0.
It wasn’t till late in the third quarter when Taconic finally got on the board with a big 69-yard run from Ben Sykes, who found the outside and never looked back. Taconic failed to make the two-point conversion, leaving the score as a two-possession game. Pittsfield tacked on one more touchdown, this time in an unorthodox way. Michael Vegas scooped up a fumble from his own team and rushed it in from 23 yards out to seal the game, 24-6.
“Our offensive line did a great job,” Jezewski said. “Ben Tobler-Campoli, a freshman playing quarterback, and a freshman left tackle in Cooper Reed, our older guys took them under their wings, and Xavier Southard had a great game, so I’m proud of the way these guys have bought in and played. That’s all I can ask for.”
Pittsfield will host Hoosac Valley next Friday at home, while Taconic looks to keep growing when it plays Commerce, at home, on Sept. 26.