Pittsfield Bowls Over Chicopee
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- There was a lot for Pittsfield football coach Brian Jezewski to like in Friday's 40-0 win over Chicopee.
He did point out that his Generals can take a little time to work on the "little things."
It was junior Keanu Arce-Jackson who did the big things early to start Pittsfield on its way to a laugher on Berkshire Community College's Gene Dellea Field.
Arce-Jackson got the game-s first score on a 30-yard interception return and the second on a 39-yard recption from Patrick Rindfuss to put Pittsfield up, 16-0 midway through the first quarter.
It was all black and purple from there as Pittsfield ran up a 40-0 half-time lead and turned the game over to the reserves for a second half played under running time.
"That was a great kickstart," Jezewski said of Arce-Jackson's early scores
"Keanu is a fundamentally sound player. And, you know, when you do things right, those things happen. You get those opportunities for things to happen."
One of the few sour notes for Pittsifeld in the first half was a failed fourth-and-10 conversion attempt on its first possession.
But on the game's next play, Arce-Jackson got the first of his two interceptions in the game and raced the other way for the score. Patrick Rindfuss ran in the first of Pittsfield's five two-point conversions to make it 8-0.
The next time the Generals touched theb ball, they needed just three plays to get in the end zone on Rindfuss' first TD pass of the evening.
Its next scoring drive consumed 55 yards and spanned the second and third quarters, ending with a Rindfuss throw to Brayden Bunnell for 25 yards deep down the right side to give Pittsfield a 24-0 lead.
TD No. 4 came before Chicopee could run an offensive play because Davon Solomon ripped the ball from a member of the Pacers' return unit on a short kickoff and ran 45 yards for the score.
When Chicopee's offense was on the field, it did not fair much better against a withering Pittsfield defense.
"Our front four, we're not really a blitz team, and our front four, with our different personnnel -- we can go big, we can go small, we can go fast," Jezewski said of his defense. "And we have a couple of guys who are big and fast.
"It's a good combination to have."
Chicopee finished the first half with minus-2 yards of offense.
Pittsfield's offense ent 61 yards on its final possession of the half.
Rindfuss had 47 of his 108 yards rushing on the drive, going the last 30 for the touchdown. Rindfuss also finished with 115 yards passing, completing six of 11 attempts.
In the second half, ninth-grader Marcus Jubrey had a 29-yard touchdown run called back by a holding call. Jubrey did end up gaining 49 yards on the ground in a half shortened appreciably by the running clock.
Pittsfield (3-1) has outscored its last three opponents by a combined margin of 150-16. Next Friday, it goes to South Hadley.