Hoosac Valley Downs Pittsfield
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Hoosac Valley football team Friday took care of business on the road with a 33-6 win over Pittsfield.
It wasn’t the cleanest game from Hoosac Valley (2-0) coming off the bye week, but it was able to get the job done in convincing fashion.
The Hurricanes started the game off with two straight penalties, putting them behind the sticks early. But quarterback Ben Payton was able to get the offense going with back-to-back passes to wide receiver Adan Wicks who broke the second one for a 65-yard touchdown.
Wicks finished with 110 yards receiving and the one touchdown. Payton finished the game with 167 yards passing and 55 yards on the ground, including four total touchdowns.
The big spark for the Hurricanes came on the defensive end. After giving up 30 points last game, Hoosac Valley was able to keep this young Pittsfield offense quiet. With three first-half turnovers on the offensive end, it was up to the defense to keep things tight and not let Pittsfield gain any momentum.
“Our defense was good, we didn’t play a lot of defense against Wahconah, and having the bye week was good for us,” Hoosac Valley head coach Marshall Maxwell said. “We were able to get back to basics and fundamentals, and these kids have been buying into whatever we run on defense. Our defense has been really good at communicating, and that’s been the biggest thing so far.”
Hoosac Valley found itself in a one-score game just before the half after Ben Tobler-Campoli rushed one in from 6 yards out to make it 14-6. After giving up one of the three turnovers in the first half, the Hurricanes were fortunate to get one right back by Kamarion Kastner, who intercepted the pass and brought Hoosac inside the red zone.
Two plays later, Qwanell Bradley caught a pass from 5 yards out for the score, giving his team a 21-6 lead.
“We were sloppy. Pittsfield is a young team, but they are a good team and well coached,” Hoosac Valley head coach Marshall Maxwell said. “We had three turnovers in the first half and 85 yards in penalties. You do that against a more experienced team, you lose; instead of leading, you go down 21-6.”
Hoosac Valley came out at halftime looking to break this one open, and that’s exactly what they did. This time from 35 yards out, Ben Payton found Qwanell Bradley for his second score of the game.
With the way the defense was playing, there was no chance of a comeback from Pittsfield. The Hoosac Valley defense continued to do its job all night long, and the offense was able to tack on one more touchdown in the fourth quarter from Noah Rehill, who broke one from half field.
Hoosac Valley will take on Monument Mountain next week on the road, while Pittsfield will go on the road against Lee.