Belchertown football slogs to win over Athol
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BELCHERTOWN - The Belchertown football team took another giant step - albeit a muddy one - toward securing a second straight postseason berth.
The Orioles scored on their first possession and their defense nearly pitched a shutout in a 16-6 victory over Athol Thursday night.
"We made some big plays, and both defenses played really well," said Orioles coach John Mayo. "They came in having won five in a row, so that's a legitimate team. That was one of the best wins in my four years."
On a field covered in mud between the 30-yard lines, the two Intercounty League rivals slogged it out with playoff positioning on the line. Belchertown entered the contest at No. 3 in the Division 3 power rankings.
"It was really slippery, a true mud bowl," said Belchertown quarterback Chris Ladd. "But that's the way football should be, it was a lot of fun."
The Orioles (7-2, 5-2 Intercounty) received the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards for the all-important first score, especially considering the conditions. A key pass interference penalty on third down gave Belchertown a first down at the Athol 33-yard-line. Two plays later, Ladd carried around left tackle, and burst through for a 25-yard score. He then ran in the 2-pointer for an 8-0 lead.
"We were thinking they'd play me because of my running ability, and they did," Ladd said. "I just let the play develop, and we punched it in. The past few games, we've made it a point to score early, ideally on our first possession. We want to do that the rest of the season."
Neither team scored again until late in the third quarter. Athol committed five penalties and turned the ball over four times. The Red Raiders' final two possessions of the first half ended with interceptions, and two of their four second-half drives were halted by fumbles.
The Orioles doubled their lead with two minutes left in the third. Ladd's pass just inside the right pylon connected with Tyler Rodriguez for a 6-yard score. A well-executed receiver screen from Ladd to James Ryan on the conversion made it 16-0.
Ladd and his receivers picked up two key third-down conversions and another on fourth down during the drive. On third-and-6 from the Belchertown 44, Kevin Comeau reeled in a 24-yard reception for a new set of downs.
"We ran that play out of our quads formation, and Kevin was wide open on the sideline," said Mayo. "If he's not that open, the ball probably doesn't get there because Chris had to throw it like a shot put. I thought that was the play of the game."
On fourth-and-10 from the Athol 32, Ladd hit Steve Boudreau with a fade up the left sideline for 21 yards to the 11. The touchdown came on the ensuing third down.
Ladd (92 passing, 66 rushing) accounted for all but 15 of the Orioles' 173 total yards. Jake Loughman ran for 15 yards on six attempts.
"I like the fact that teams key on me a bit, because that opens things up for other guys to run or catch the ball," Ladd said. "With us, it's all about the team aspect."
The Red Raiders (5-4, 5-1 Intercounty) finally got on the board with 1:38 remaining. On a fourth-and-goal from the Belchertown 4, Jack O'Connell lofted a pass to the right that was deflected by a defender but hauled in by Dakota Melanson for the score. The play capped a 16-play, 65-yard drive that used up much of the fourth-quarter clock.
"We haven't had a shutout in four seasons here, and we came within a fourth-down touchdown of getting it," said Mayo. "That would have been nice for the guys, but we're not going to complain."
The Orioles stuffed O'Connell's keeper on the 2-point attempt to leave Athol two scores behind. Belchertown recovered the onside kick and ran out most of the clock.
O'Connell was the leading Athol rusher with 48 yards on 15 attempts, while Adam Aiken had 44 yards on 10 carries. O'Connell completed 3-of-5 passes for 33 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. In limited action, Jerry Parker went 1-of-4 for 2 passing yards.
Neither team could muster much offense. The Orioles held the Red Raiders to 141 yards, as Belchertown's defensive front, led by Zach Lebeau and Tony Pellerin, stuffed the running game most of the night.
"Zach Lebeau has had a great year, and Alex Clair has come on as an end, and Tony has been playing much better," said Mayo. "Our linebackers played really well also, because they were running the ball all night.
"We give up a lot of yards sometimes, but we came into tonight averaging about 13 points on defense," he added. "We're not a great defensive team, but we don't give up many big plays."
Also key to the defensive effort were interceptions by Joe Sarno and James Ryan. Pellerin recovered a fumble on Athol's final play of the night.
"Our defense was huge, they just keep getting better," Ladd said. "And our guys give it all they have every play."
Due to the Oct. 29 snowstorm that resulted in widespread power outages in Belchertown, the Orioles had not had an organized practice in over a week before returning last Sunday.
"The captains had some practices for the guys that could get out," Ladd said. "We knew we needed to be ready to play whenever we could."
The victory was the 10th consecutive home win for the Orioles.
"The kids have picked up on that recently, and any team wants to defend it's home turf," Mayo said. "Our seniors haven't lost here since they were sophomores. When you try to turn a program around, winning at home is a great start. We've got one more here, and would love to get it."
The Orioles host Greenfield at 5 p.m. Tuesday before their Thanksgiving Day game at Pathfinder. The win over Athol puts them in solid position for a playoff berth, and they still have an opportunity for the league title.
"Coach told us we probably have to win out to assure ourselves a spot, and that's the mentality we're going to take," Ladd said.
Mayo said, "We can still tie for first, but we need help. And we're not in the playoffs yet, we probably need at least one more win. And we don't want to wait until Thanksgiving, because Pathfinder's a good team and anything can happen on Thanksgiving morning."
