Lee Rolls over Monument Mountain in Opener
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Dawson Reber ran for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and David Kirchner threw for 146 yards and three scores Friday as the Lee football team won the South County Bowl in convincing fashion, beating Monument Mountain, 42-6.
The Wildcats’ defense dominated, giving up just two first downs until late in the fourth quarter, when the Spartans used a 77-yard pass to put a late touchdown on the scoreboard.
“We’ve known from Day 1 that they were going to be a very physical football team,” Lee coach Tom Salinetti said after the Wildcats won their season opener. “They’ve managed to temper that with great attention to deal, really hard practices and just buying into what we’re trying to do – limiting big plays and all that.
“They knew it very well. They knew what this game was going to be about and how we could keep [Monument Mountain] in check. And they delivered beyond what we expected.”
The Spartans came up short on a fourth-down pass in the first offensive series of the game, and Lee capitalized right away, taking advantage of field position at the plus-41.
Reber ripped off a 16-yard run to start the possession, and after Lee took a 5-yard penalty that put them back to the 25, he scored from there to make it 6-0.
Lee doubled its lead on its next possession when Kirchner connected with Thomas Lucy for a 62-yard score.
The only thing Lee did not do early on was convert its extra points, and the Wildcats settled for a 12-0 lead after one period.
A 10-play Wildcat drive that spanned the first and second quarters stalled at the Monument Mountain 28.
But Lee put the game away before half-time nevertheless, scoring three times in just more than four minutes to close out the half.
First, a Seamus Cooney interception and 35-yard return gave the Wildcats first-and-goal at the 5, and Reber scored to make it 18-0.
Then, Lee’s defense forced a three-and-out, and, after a short punt, its offense scored on its first play when Kirchner hit Gabe Ranzoni for a 23-yard score.
Finally, another three-and-out by the Spartans gave Lee possession at midfield with 1:15 on the clock.
Kirchner threw to Lucy for 42 yards to get to the 10 on the first play. Then, after a sack gave Lee fourth-and-goal at the 13, Matt Mairo caught a 13-yard touchdown pass. Reber ran in his second successful 2-point conversion of the half, and Lee had a 34-0 lead at half-time.
“With the backfield we have, we were definitely expecting David Kirchner to come out and throw three touchdowns in the first half,” Salinetti said with a wry smile. “That was very cool. He really stepped up in this game and was all over it and did exactly what we needed him to do the whole time. Didn’t try to do too much. That’s his strength right now.
“Those backs run hard, and I thought the line handled things incredibly well up front today with a lot of tough pressures and blitzes they were throwing at us. They picked all that up really well.”
Lee made it four straight possessions with a touchdown when it marched 64 yards after taking the second-half kickoff. Jaydee Reber capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, and Bryce Hoff ran in the conversion to make it 42-0.
With the contest decided and the clock running throughout the second half, Monument Mountain gave the home crowd something to cheer about on its final possession.
Dominic Calautti fired a pass deep down the left side to Griffin Touponce, who hauled it in and scored to allow the Spartans to avoid the shutout.
Monument Mountain (1-1) gets a bye week next week before hosting Hoosac Valley on Sept. 26.
Lee (1-0) is on the road again next Friday when it visits a Wahconah team hungry for its first win.
“Very well coached football team,” Salinetti said. “From what I hear, they’re a little bit on the younger side, but, obviously, you’ve got to bring it. You’ve got to come to play. We’re excited for that challenge, absolutely.”