CHESHIRE, Mass. – Wahconah made huge plays with its special teams, but Hoosac Valley’s defense had a special second half in pulling out a 36-30 opening day win on Saturday.
Qwanell Bradley ran for 92 yards, and Ben Payton hit Kamarion Kastner for touchdown passes of 57 and 59 yards as the Hurricanes won a back-and-forth game and avenged a crushing loss last year in Dalton.
The Hurricanes got off the mat after a 22-point second quarter for Wahconah that was keyed by an 80-yard kickoff return and a successful onside kick in back-to-back plays and ended with a 22-12 Wahconah lead.
Hoosac Valley’s defense kept Wahconah’s offense out of the end zone in the second half, allowing just an 82-yard kick return midway through the second quarter and making all the stops it had to down the stretch.
“The defense in the first half, we were in shambles,” Hoosac Valley senior Noah Rehill said. “We planned for their offense, but they came out in formations we had not planned for pregame.
“So, during half-time, coach made an adjustment – D-ends, specifically, we started coming more flat. And it really worked out in the second half. And they also made some mistakes, which really hurt them.”
When the most anticipated game in Berkshire County football got going, it looked like Hoosac Valley was going to run away with it.
Payton and Kastner hooked up for a 57 hard pass play to give the Hurricanes a 6-0 lead on their opening possession.
Then, a Wahconah drive stalled when the Canes’ Logan O’Connell stopped Anthony Talora (51 yards rushing) for no gain on fourth-and-3 at the plus-31.
Seven plays later, Payton was in the end zone on a 4-yard keeper to put Hoosac Valley up, 12-0, two minutes into the second quarter.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Wahconah’s Gio Venable broke off an 80-yard return for a score. He then found Rick Rando for a 2-point conversion that made it 12-8.
Wahconah then tried an onside kick that ended with Colton Jennings’ recovery at the plus-42. Seven plays later, Talora ran it in from the 3 to put his team ahead, and he ran in the conversion to give the visitors a 16-12 lead.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Hurricanes helped push them back to their 4 on the next possession, but Kastner’s 46-yard punt pushed Wahconah to the 50.
From there, Venable directed a six-play scoring drive that ended in a 12-yard pass to Micah Roberts and a 22-12 lead.
Venable threw for 78 yards in addition to the return for a touchdown and his contributions on defense.
“Awesome, gutsy,” Wahconah coach Gary Campbell Jr. said of the junior QB. “Gio Venable did not come off the field. Kickoff, kickoff return, quarterback, cornerback, punt. ‘Get some water, get back in there quick. Now! Let’s go!’ And he just kept gutting it out.
“That’s where we are as far as … we’re down Jerry Beaubrun – would have helped, really important. Down a couple of linemen. Down a couple of key guys. But zero excuses from our group. Zero going in. And we fought like Warriors. I’m really proud of them.”
Wahconah’s first possession of the second half ended when Jayquan Vazquez forced a fumble on a fourth-down try to give Hoosac Valley possession at the plus-24. The Hurricanes cashed in on the short field and scored in three plays with Bradley doing the honors on a 10-yard run midway through the third to close the gap to 22-20.
Again, Wahconah answered on the next play as Lorenzo Lewis returned the kickoff 82 yards. Venable ran in the conversion to give Wahconah a 30-20 lead with 7:06 left in the quarter.
Hoosac then handed Wahconah a chance to put the game out of reach when it fumbled the ball to Talora on the second play of its next possession.
But it was all Hurricanes from there.
Danile Bondini made a tackle for a 2-yard loss on third-and-9, and Wahconah’s fourth-down try from the Hoosac 29 ended in an incomplete pass.
The Hurricanes’ offense then took advantage of that little momentum swing to produce a 59-yard completion from Payton to Kastner for their second touchdown of the day. Bradley’s conversion got Hoosac Valley within two points with 3:29 left in the third quarter.
A successful kick coverage by the Canes put Wahconah at its 18, and on second-and-15 from the 13-yard line, a bad snap resulted in Borawski’s recovery in the end zone. Payton ran in the two-pointer to give Hoosac Valley a 36-30 lead at the end of the third.
“We had a major issue with our kickoff team today,” Hoosac Valley coach Marshall Maxwell said. “[Wahconah] played a hard game. I’m not taking anything away from them. But we talked about it at half-time. We felt that Wahconah’s success came as a result of us not executing.
“And we cleaned it up at half-time. Then we caused a couple of big plays. And momentum really shifted to our side. Once we caught the momentum, we were kind of a tough team to beat.”
Wahconah had to punt the ball away on its next possession but got the ball back on an interception by Talora on a Hoosac Valley first-and-goal with 6:23 on the clock.
Venable got his offense out to its own 33, but a sack by Rehill and O’Connell gave Wahconah a fourth-and-25. The fourth down try was unsuccessful with 1:44 left to play, and Hoosac Valley was able to run out the clock.
Both teams get a couple of weeks to recover from the opener. Hoosac Valley will be at Pittsfield on Sept. 19, and Wahconah will look to bounce back at home against Lee that same night.
The Hurricanes will be looking to put the turnovers behind them but carry the momentum of big win forward as they make another run at the Division 8 State Tournament.
“This week was super emotional,” Rehill said. “Last year, it was a heart-breaker. Walking off that field, I know none of us who are seniors returning ever forgot that feeling. We came in today with a chip on our shoulder, knowing this game is not just any other game. This game meant more to us.
“So coming out of here with a win feels amazing.”
